Avox
by storygirl1015
Summary: As a little girl, traumatized and mute, Sakura became a member of the Uchiha clan. Years later, something carnal is stirring in the men of the Uchiha. Something taboo and possessive for the strange pink-haired girl that somehow became important to them. Will their affections be what breaks Sakura, or sets her free...? AU. Dark themes. SakuxUchiha
1. Chapter 1

**This idea literally came from nowhere and shot itself into existence…wedging itself at the forefront of my mind and begging to be written…and so, I present my first ever SakuraxUchiha harem. May also include slight SakuxAkatsuki later… Hope this goes over well. But I warn you, it's gonna get pretty angsty in places. Not just like some of my lighter crack!Harems…but if you're still interested, I encourage you to read on. And don't forget to do what you do—review—at the end. Thank you kindly in advance. ^.^**

**SakuraxUchiha (SakuxSasu, SakuxIta, SakuxShi, SakuxMada, possible SakuxAkatsuki)**

**Ages:**

**Sakura-5**

**Sasuke-6**

**Itachi-13**

**Shisui-15**

**Madara-18**

**This is only the ages for the beginning…it'll change when it gets into the second part of the story but just in case you were wondering. Sasuke and Sakura are a year apart because technically Sakura is older than Sasuke by about four months in the canon-verse, and I didn't wanna screw with their birthdays, but I think it's cuter this way. Madara's age has been scaled down accordingly because although him having any sort of intimate relationship with Sakura would be taboo regardless until she's older, I just can't fathom having a teenage Sakura with like, a fifty year old dude, which is what it'd be like if I'd made him a young adult Madara while she was still a child… -.- I haven't decided whether or not to put Obito or Izuna in here yet…There is no "Tobi" alias for now.**

**Summary:** Ten years ago when everything she thought she knew was spiraling hopelessly out of control, Haruno Sakura lost her voice, and gained a place in the Uchiha family. The gratitude she feels toward them is unfathomable and her loyalty unshakable, but what she fails to realize is that darker, lust-driven feelings may be budding in some of her male relatives. Could their taboo love be what finally saves her, or pushes her over the edge?

**I don' own Naruto and this is totally AU. Crack!pairings of the Sakuxmultiple variety and pretty heavy angst in places. Rated M for some swearing, mentions of abuse, and possible future sexual/adult themes. Don't like it then gtf out…but don't read just to flame. Sorry if that was harsh but I have very little patience for obnoxious flamers. Everyone else please disregard that and enjoy.**

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**Ch.1-**Pink Hair

Uchiha Sasuke sighed impatiently as he rolled onto his stomach to peek out at the driveway yet again. Empty. They still weren't back yet. He got up from his spot on the mattress, restless and tired of staring at the ceiling in boredom. Patience had never been a strong suit of his. Especially not when he was so curious.

A few weeks earlier, his parents had called him and his older brother to the living room and told them that they were going to be bringing something home that would bring a lot of changes with it. Mikoto had explained that it was something they had been thinking over for a long time and a decision they wanted the boys to be a part of.

Sasuke had absently thought it was too late for that, since their minds seemed made up. They hadn't even specified! His mother had simply smiled and said it would be a surprise when he asked what it was. Of course that just made the terrible itch of curiosity even worse. He had a feeling Itachi knew something he didn't though—he _always_ knew. But he wasn't saying either, and that just made Sasuke annoyed that he was out of the loop.

So now all he could do was wait for his parents to return with this…change-bringing 'surprise'. He stopped in the hall outside the living room to look up at a family portrait on the wall. It was fairly recent. He stood smiling brightly beside his elder brother who was staring calmly toward the camera. Their parents stood behind them, both wearing small, content smiles, though his mother's was more apparent.

"It's not fair…how come I'm always the last one to know things?" he grumbled.

"They say ignorance is bliss. Is not being included truly so terrible?" The boy blinked, surprised to see a familiar young man standing beside him, looking thoughtfully at the picture.

Sasuke gasped, "Uncle Madara…? Y-you're here?" he asked. It was rare that Madara came around, though he knew a little about him. They were related, distantly, but still of the same blood. In the interest of not going into a long and complicated explanation that would likely go over Sasuke's head, his parents had simply introduced him as his uncle long ago.

Their family was very wealthy and very influential, but Madara was hailed as an exceptional prodigy, even among a family of geniuses. He was young, only eighteen, but no one doubted his ability. Or his dark, ambitious side…

As always, no one told Sasuke anything, but he could see how wary everyone else in the family was around him. He had once heard his father murmuring that he was the black sheep of the Uchiha. Wily and unpredictable. He understood little of what it meant only that Madara was someone to be cautious of. Possibly even someone to fear.

"Your parents asked me to come while they took care of their prior engagement. I arrived shortly after they left…when you were in your room sulking I believe," he added somewhat smugly, causing Sasuke to flush lightly.

"Was not!" he denied futilely.

"Fine," Madara replied smoothly, "Brooding then,"

Sasuke puffed his cheeks out indignantly but wouldn't give Madara the further satisfaction of getting a rise out of him otherwise. It then occurred to him as he looked at the long-haired Uchiha that Madara might very well know what it was his parents were doing.

He was supposed to be a super-genius like Itachi after all—though of course he held his brother in higher regards for obvious reasons. The question was how to go about extracting information? Madara's answers could be illusive and downright cryptic. But then, nearly everything about the man could be said to be such.

"Uncle, do you…do you know where my parents went?" he asked meekly, studying his bare feet.

Madara looked down at the little boy with an amused smirk. Of course he knew. The question was, should he tell the boy outright, or toy with him?

'_Well…'_ he contemplated shortly.

…What fun was there in honesty?

"Let's just say they may or may not be bringing someone home with them for you to meet." He told the boy, whose face instantly morphed from buzzing curiosity to one of complete shock.

Sasuke's face scrunched thoughtfully, _bless him the naïve soul_, thought Madara. "Someone…for me to meet? Like who?" he pressed, his mind racing in loops. That hardly seemed like a very exciting surprise…normally when his parents wanted him to meet someone it was someone his family did business with. Some wealthy patron and on occasion their children…

His eyes gleamed mysteriously. "I wonder whom indeed? Why not ask Itachi. I'm sure he'll have an answer." he suggested, shrugging. The boy only blinked at him once before running off to seek out his brother. Madara chuckled quietly to himself. Little Sasuke was just too fun.

After searching a few of his brother's normal haunts, he finally traced his way back to the family's rather large private library, and upon seeing his brother seated in an armchair reading a heavy looking tome from the family archive, felt rather embarrassed he hadn't thought to come here sooner. Itachi was a genius so of course he was always studying—that was probably how he knew so much.

Itachi didn't so much as look up as he padded into the room, but he had no doubts his brother knew he was there. "Um, Ita—"

"Sasuke, come sit. There's something I'd like to tell you."

He hesitated momentarily in surprise before joining his brother in the neat sitting area. _'How does he do that?' _When Sasuke's body had sank several inches into the plush love seat, Itachi carefully shut the book and met his eyes coolly.

"I'm sure you're wondering what's been happening lately, why our parents seem so preoccupied?"

Sasuke nodded quickly, not bothering to ask how he knew.

"What I'm about to tell you may take you by surprise, but listen carefully little brother." He watched as Sasuke leaned in raptly, his onyx eyes spilling over with curiosity. He smiled gently, "Sasuke, our parents are planning to adopt another child. They will be arriving with them today."

After that, all that filled the silent room was the quiet ticking of the grandfather clock in the back corner. Sasuke tried to let what his brother had told him sink in, but it didn't seem to be processing correctly. Another child… as in, another brother? But why? Itachi was the pride of the family and they were always doting on him, so he doubted they could be getting another son to replace him. '_But what about me? What if it's because mother and father are disappointed in me?' _

"No!" Sasuke frowned angrily. He may not have been as smart or cool as Itachi, but that didn't give them the right to replace him, did it? The boy stood, scowling. "Why do we need another brother?! The two of us are enough, right nii-san?" The loud thump of his heart made him painfully aware of how much the thought hurt. Unconsciously, his fists clenched as he shook his head.

Itachi looked at his brother in sympathy, a part of him feeling that this may be Sasuke's reaction. He hadn't agreed with parents' decision to keep it from him until they brought the child home, but he supposed telling him now, coming from him, was better than the alternative. "Neither of us is being replaced."

Slowly, the betrayed look on Sasuke's young face began to waver. He wanted to believe his brother. Itachi had never lied to him before. But…this was different. This was 'life-changing'. "How do you know?" he asked helplessly.

Itachi sighed before placing the thick book he'd been holding down and standing. Sasuke's eyes widened as he got closer, but he quickly huffed in indignation when his brother jabbed him swiftly in the center of his forehead.

He always fell for that trick! "Ow! What was that for?!" he rubbed his reddened forehead moodily.

Itachi smirked teasingly, "Foolish otouto. Until now, it has always been the two of us. I've always been the wall you have to climb over, and you my ever present shadow, working to surpass me. But…even if that changes, even if it's no longer just us, we will always be brothers, and you will always be Sasuke, my foolish otouto. Even if there were dozens of children in this family, that would not change. Remember that."

Try as he might, Sasuke couldn't hide the happy grin that lit up his face or the bright blush that fought its way to the surface. _'My big brother is so cool!'_

Somehow Itachi's words calmed him. He reseated himself and decided he could deal with this "new kid" when he got here. For now he would wait and talk with Itachi. He didn't really feel like going back to his room, or having Madara taunt him endlessly.

To Itachi's amusement, it took about fifteen minutes of silence before Sasuke asked if he would teach him to play shoji. He knew his brother was a champion at the game—though Itachi was a champion at everything he did, so that was hardly surprising—but he'd never really taken an interest in learning, until now that was.

Itachi had said he'd rather read than talk, and normally that would've been just fine. Only Sasuke was trying to keep from exploding with the jitters he was barely keeping at bay, so anything was better than chewing his nails and waiting for his parents to get back.

Itachi taught him the basics and had soundly beaten him a consecutive four times in a row. They had just set the pieces back up for another round when Sasuke caught the faint sound of a car pulling into the drive. He was on his feet and running for the front foyer faster than he realized.

The quiet footsteps behind him indicated Itachi following at a slower pace. Sasuke watched, breath held anxiously, as the front door opened to reveal his father, looking slightly tired and as stern as ever. He didn't immediately acknowledge his sons upon entering, but that was nothing new.

As he shrugged out of his coat and removed his shoes his wife stepped in behind him. Round onyx eyes stared at the bundle she had carefully balanced against her hip. He could just barely see a small shoe poking out from underneath the thick coat wrapped around the small thing. Sasuke blinked, his heartbeat suddenly skyrocketing.

'_Is that…?_' he attempted to swallow the nervous knot. Itachi told him that it was alright. He wasn't getting replaced. Itachi was always right.

"Welcome home," Madara's sleek voice rumbled as he seemed to slink from the shadows.

Fugaku turned his stare to the young man and nodded. "We appreciate you watching the boys." he returned gruffly.

Personally, he had felt that Itachi was more than responsible enough to be left in charge while they were away, but Mikoto had insisted someone should be there to watch "her babies". He inwardly scoffed. Sometimes he felt his wife smothered their sons to the point of coddling them. It wouldn't make them strong, just dependent.

"Boys, I have someone here I'd like you to meet." Mikoto was practically beaming as she slowly detached the bundle from her side. She inwardly cringed as she felt the small, icy fingers trying to dig into her neck underneath the coat, but managed to pry them away and set the child on shaky legs. The large coat was kept snugly around the little body, slight tremors barely visible through it.

Sasuke stepped forward, his curiosity overriding any previous animosity he had felt. "Mother…is he our new brother?" he asked slowly.

Fugaku looked away, disappointed. He hadn't wanted another child, and if he _**had**_ it certainly would be another male. But as it was, his wife had gone against everything they'd talked about when the topic had first been breached, and the result was that they had _not _come home with another son…

Mikoto's smile brightened, if at all possible, and she firmly tugged the coat away to reveal the newest addition to the Uchiha household. "No. It's your new sister."

The minute the coat no longer obstructed his view, Sasuke's mind went into overdrive. There, standing in front of his mother, was probably the most pitiful looking thing he'd ever seen. A little girl peeking timidly out at them, her hands wringing nervously in front of her. That was hardly the most appalling thing about her. His eyes trailed up, and landed on her head, where a mop of shocking pink hung limply over her eyes. **Pink**. _**Pink**_! No Uchiha had pink hair.

"This is Sakura," Mikoto spoke gently, Sasuke noted, like she was afraid speaking too loud would cause the girl to shatter. He eyed the scrawny frame in the worn clothes that hung loosely on her little body and decided she certainly looked fragile enough. "She's a year younger than you, Sasuke, so you're not the youngest anymore. I'm counting on you to look after her."

Madara suppressed a smirk at Sasuke's expense. The boy's befuddled expression said it all. Admittedly, he hadn't expected his little head game to work so well… but the more unsure of himself he was the more advantageous for Madara in the future. All he had done was sow the seeds and Sasuke's budding inferiority complex to Itachi had done the rest, _'Oh-ho…no longer the baby, are we Sasuke?_'

He spared the pale little slip of a girl a passing glance. Besides her hair, he saw nothing truly remarkable. She shook like a leaf and showed signs of abuse and malnourishment. A problem child with baggage. No doubt it had been Mikoto who had chosen to bring her home. Fugaku would never want such a weak child, even if it was his own blood.

Sasuke just kept staring at "Sakura" as he now knew the human mop-head to be called. She fidgeted and seemed to look at him shyly—it was hard to tell as her hair almost completely covered her eyes—but otherwise, she remained silent.

This made him mentally exasperated. '_What's her deal? Why doesn't she say something?_'

He wanted to say something cheeky like "cat got your tongue?" to get under her skin, but instead the first thing he could think to say, was, "Her hair…is pink."

Fugaku barely managed to suppress a snort at his younger son's observation. He had told Mikoto that a child with pink hair would stick out like a sore thumb in the Uchiha clan—a clan of pallid skin and typically dark features—but she had claimed something about the trembling little girl who shied away while the other children tried desperately to be noticed, had called to her.

Mikoto only smiled gently, stroking Sakura's head soothingly as she glanced backward at the woman. "It is."

Itachi, having silently observed until that moment, carefully stepped in front of the girl before bending to her height. He'd noticed how reclusive she seemed and assessed that she had probably experienced some sort of trauma that had caused her to draw into herself. Most children her age may be shy around strangers, but she acted as though she expected someone to strike out at her any moment. It made him curious about just what she had seen.

"Hello Sakura," he whispered calmly, "I'm your older brother, Itachi. It's nice to meet you." The tremors didn't stop but her eyes seemed to slowly drift toward his face, given the slight lift of her head.

Patiently, Itachi remained crouched, offering her a hand gingerly, palm outstretched. She stared warily for several long moments; her uncertainty was all but palpable. Sasuke was growing anxious just observing her. She was so unsettling! Pallid skin and an aura so young but so laced with despair it was pitiable.

Sakura studied the hand, waiting for it to curl into a fist, or fly through the air to strike her in the face. But the hand stayed open and flat, welcoming. Some deep innate part of her sought contact, contact that didn't result in bruising or pain. Her tiny fingers twitched at her sides. Itachi noticed that the girl seemed even more distraught, and wondered if it was too soon to try and initiate any form of contact.

He began to withdraw his hand, nearly startled when a small, clammy fist encircled his thumb, keeping him from drawing it away. The family watched, a collective breath of anticipation held over their heads. Sasuke blinked, not knowing the exact dynamics of the situation. Only sensing that it was something very defining that would mold the foundation of how this Sakura fit in to the family.

When Sakura didn't attempt to retract her grip, there was a sense of deep fascination in the air among the Uchiha. Fugaku was impressed his son had actually connected with the girl. Mikoto was both relieved and elated. Madara was amused and Sasuke was bewildered by what had happened.

Sakura peeked at the face of the boy who was going to be her new brother, and Itachi saw a flash of startlingly green eyes through the curtain of pink. Her lips parted slowly and she mouthed something inaudible. It was as if she was asking if she had made the right decision. Not wanting to startle her, Itachi slowly let his fingers curl loosely around her own, giving her the chance to let go. It warmed him when she didn't. He had just gained a tiny step in earning her trust. Itachi glanced up from their hands to see watery green eyes looking at him, her small mouth quivering nervously. He decided from that point on he would always be there for both his little brother_ and_ sister.

Dinner had passed awkwardly, if that was what it could be called. Sakura had remained silent throughout dinner. In fact, she had barely touched her plate at first, seemingly hesitant as if fearing some kind of reprimand. Only with Mikoto's encouraging prods to eat had she taken the first tentative bite.

Then, seeming to forget everything else she grew bolder and started to nibble in earnest, obviously hungry, but not willing to abandon all etiquette. So she wasn't a complete pig even when she was hungry, which was good. But Sasuke still wasn't ready to accept her completely. Not when she was effectively taking everyone's attention away from him where it belonged. How was he expected to warm up to her…when he didn't know the first thing about her? Other than her name was an obvious cliché of her abnormal hair and she seemed incapable of speech.

He watched, restless and not ready for bedtime, as dark grey storm clouds roiled overhead, outside his bedroom window. A storm had been blowing in from the west side of the city all day and had finally reached the Uchiha's lavish home on the outside of town. Faint rumblings in the distance made him tense slightly, but then he remembered he was an Uchiha and too old to be afraid of stupid thunder storms, so his body relaxed.

He had mostly gotten over the fear. But he still was tired of not sleeping, and maybe a midnight snack would help. Sliding from bed, Sasuke tiptoed out into the hall, carefully making his way past his parents' cracked bedroom door. He stopped just outside the hall bathroom and listened for any signs of anyone else being awake. All he heard was rumbling and wind outside. The coast was clear.

By the time he reached the top of the stairs, his heart-rate was even again, and the young Uchiha stepped softly onto each wooden stair, watching out for the creaky plank in the center that always squealed like a drowning cat. Clearing the stairs was probably the hardest part.

He padded into the kitchen, feeling his way around instead of flipping on the light. Sasuke grinned in triumph when his fingers wrapped around the cool metal handle of the stainless steel fridge. Cold air chilled his face as he opened the door and fumbled around. "Oh!" he sighed happily, grabbing the carton of milk and a container of cherry tomatoes.

His mother kept them for when she made salads, but Sasuke loved how small and easy to snack on they were. Not nearly as messy as the big tomatoes she grew out in her garden. The little boy set the milk and tomatoes on the kitchen table, dragging a chair out and placing it just under a cabinet too high to reach. With the practiced balanced of a sneaky child, he climbed from the chair onto the counter, standing on his knees and taking out a glass. Sasuke easily hopped down and quickly filled it to the brim with milk.

He carried his full glass back to the table with both hands, careful not to slosh any puddles on the floor. Sasuke gleefully hoisted himself up into the chair and sat on his knees, popping tomato after tomato into his hungry mouth and occasionally gulping down milk.

He sighed, wiping off the milk mustache he was sure he had with the back of his pajama sleeve. By the time he'd run out of milk, he looked down only to realize he'd eaten almost a third of the container. "Better hurry up and put these back!" he whispered, snatching up the remaining tomatoes and shoving them back in the spot where he'd found them in the fridge drawer.

Hopefully his kaa-san wouldn't notice that some were missing anytime soon…or she would forget and think she'd used them. He put the empty glass in the sink and rubbed his full belly, feeling satisfied and slightly drowsier.

Maybe now he would sleep. He tiptoed back upstairs with the same careful steps, staying close to the walls as he passed by his parents' room once more. He was halfway back to his room, just passing his brother's closed door when he heard it. A tiny whine that was barely audible over the howling wind outside. He stopped to listen, thinking maybe he was just getting jumpy. Sneaking around did that to a kid.

Just when he'd put it down to his overactive imagination, the sound came again, louder and more plaintive. He frowned, wondering what the racket was about. It sounded like some baleful ghost moaning in the night. That was when he remembered his strange new sister with her spooky green eyes and ghostly pale skin...

He glanced at the room just across from his, edging toward her door and pressing an ear to it. The noise was definitely coming from her. The whining was sounding more frantic and he could hear shuffling like she was fighting or trying to escape someone.

He started to knock, but then realized she probably wouldn't hear him. Then he wondered why he cared at all if she was scared. He didn't really know her, and it wasn't like he liked her. She was just…some weird girl his parents brought home and expected him to play nice with. '_It's not my problem…_' he reasoned. _'Mother will probably come soon anyway.'_

His thoughts were punctuated by a particularly loud clap of thunder that seemed to shake the house. He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed. Sasuke had to keep reminding himself he wasn't afraid anymore.

The young Uchiha kept repeating his mantra as he pivoted back around to try sleeping again. His small hand had just wrapped around the doorknob when there was a loud creak behind him and something came exploding out of Sakura's room.

A small figure swathed in a bright green comforter with a simple cherry blossom pattern. Sasuke blinked as the comforter-clad girl bolted at the next shake of thunder and tried to scurry past him—probably to his parents' room—only to trip at the heavy fabric trailing around her feet and stumble forward, squarely into his chest.

Sasuke caught his balance with a small "oomph" as the trembling pink-haired annoyance clumsily righted herself. "Hey! Watch it," he huffed. She froze, seemingly unsure what to do. He had no idea why she didn't try to run past him again.

Maybe she thought he wouldn't let her. Maybe she thought she would be in trouble for being up—_he_ probably would be. Sasuke could just make out the terrified green eyes staring at him in the peel of lightning that illuminated the dark hall through the skylight in the high-vaulted ceiling.

Her tiny fingers curled around the edges of her only protection even tighter and she sank to the carpeted floor, pressed against the wall with her shoulders hunched stiffly.

Her wide eyes glanced up in down the hall as unwanted memories of nights just like these spent huddled in the dark, scary corner of a closet resurfaced. Sakura didn't realize she was rocking herself in place and keening until the start of Sasuke's hand squeezing her shoulder brought her attention back to the present.

She blinked at the boy studying her carefully, crouching so he was eye level to her. From the beginning she could tell he didn't like her much. Not that many boys did before at the foster home, either. But he hadn't tried to bully her, at least. She shuddered at the memory of some of her older tormentors, or make her play "special games".

Sasuke frowned at the glazed look in her eyes. He didn't have to be a genius to know it was more than just the storm, more than just her not liking to be touched. Something was seriously wrong with this girl. Even the shyest girl in his class at school didn't act so…absolutely terrified of everything.

It was like Sakura had never known what it meant to be safe. To her, everything was something scary and dangerous. Every touch was meant to hurt. That was her reality before the Uchiha family brought her home, not that Sasuke had any clue.

"Come on," he said softly, taking one of her hands and prying her fingers loose from her blanket. She had a good grip on it, but Sasuke was strong for his age and soon her shaking hand was squeezed in his. Without any warning he tugged her to her feet, helping her balance as she fell into him slightly. This time he didn't shout or get upset.

He just tugged her through his door, into his dark room. Sasuke shut his door without letting go of her hand, though he was very aware of her reciprocating hold on his own hand.

"Do you wanna stay here tonight?" he asked, though he was sure it was a rhetorical question. Even if Sakura didn't want to stay with him, it was obvious she didn't want to be alone. He wasn't exactly sure why he didn't just take her to his parents' room though. He barely caught her nod. Sasuke decided he could release her hand. He wasn't going to push. She would have to decide if she wanted to come or not.

"You can take off the bedspread, you know." he told her, walking to his own bed and hopping into the center. He motioned for her to follow and she scurried to him quickly, stopping at the edge before reluctantly leaving her comforter on the floor.

Sasuke helped her get settled beside him, pulling the covers over the both of them and lying back on his cooled pillow. Even with his curtains drawn, the next flash of lightning was alarmingly bright outside his window, and the next thing he knew, there was a pink-haired girl all but strangling him.

"R-relax," he wheezed, trying desperately to pull her fingers out of his skin. Her face remained buried in his shoulder as she clung to his sides. "It's ok…I'm here," he tried again, remembering how his mother always soothed him with comforting whispers when he would run to her in the night.

A small shudder ran through him when he felt Sakura's eyelashes fluttering against the side of his neck. He hugged her reassuringly, even when he felt his shirt starting to get damp. "I'm your big brother now," he mumbled. "You don't have to be scared. I'm strong enough to protect you." Slowly, he felt Sakura's sobbing, shuddering body grow still. He glanced down to see if it was working; only to see her pale eyelids shut. Her breathing had finally evened out—she was sleeping.

"You're a whole lot of trouble, imouto," Sasuke sighed, pulling Sakura snug against him. After being kept up most of the night, he was more than ready for sleep. His eyelids felt weighted as he closed them.

The next morning, Mikoto found them curled into each other, Sasuke holding onto his new sister protectively.

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**How was that? Good, ok, so-so…? Hopefully anything but flat-out terrible... And to those that know me from my lighter fluffier stories…if you're not into angst and drama this particular little fic of mine may not be for you…See, I want to make this as realistic as possible from the stand-point of Sakura's life as a mute and how the Uchiha family must come to accept that, before there can be any romance. I want the characters to have very tangible flaws and for Sakura, being mute drastically alters her perception of the world, though intelligence wise, she's still the exceptionally bright Sakura we all know and love. It's just…it'll be applied differently.**

**Obviously other than that it will be a slow build and the romance will come in much later. In most fics I read where Sakura's adopted by the Uchiha's, usually it goes pretty smoothly and the boys get all attached instantly—she also almost always ends up with Sasuke. That will not happen here. Sasuke is wary of her for many reasons and Itachi is just trying to be a polite. The others don't really even know her yet. The time lapses will be very gradual as I want to spend a good bit of time carving out the dynamics before just moving on to even more intense stuff. I almost added Itachi at the end but decided to get in a little SasuxSaku fluff instead. ;) No, neither of them has a crush on the other. Sasuke just decides it's his job to be a big brother to Sakura. For a while their relationship will be pretty platonic…**

**Next chapter coming soon…please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy ravioli! I can't believe I got so many reviews on just one chapter! Thank you everyone! I wasn't too sure how this story would be received at first, but I think everyone's enthusiasm speaks for itself, eh? I'm excited to be doing my first SakuxUchiha AU harem and I hope it goes well! I still haven't decided on Izuna and Obito yet…but the other Uchiha— Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke and Madara will definitely play a big role. And the Akatsuki will definitely be in it too, but let me know if I should include some SakuxAka or just leave it an Uchiha centric/multi.**

**Some nice ItaxSaku fluff in this chapter as well as some ShixSaku. ;) Itachi is honestly my favorite Uchiha of all time, but everyone will get a chance with Saku. They'll be kids for a while, so any romance will happen gradually, and I probably won't get into the heavy drama and angst and stuff until then. I wanna keep it light while I still can. **

**P.S. Guys, if I don't update for a while, it doesn't mean I'm not continuing! I am a full time college student. I get really tied up because let me tell you, the work load is no joke...so please be patient because I promise I always work on chapters every spare moment I get, and I understand the anticipation (remember, I _read_ fanfiction as well as write it...) but don't freak out if the updates aren't always prompt. XD I always seem to have problems with people thinking I'll quit my popular stories. If there isn't a "discontinued/hiatus" message in the story's summary box, no matter how long it's been, it's not discontinued. Odds are, I'm brainstorming to bring you the best chapters possible. **

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**Ch.2**\- _Tickled Pink_

"Sakura-chan! Where am I?" Shisui cooed, trying to play peek-a-boo with the little girl.

Sakura stared at him questioningly behind her ever present fringe and Sasuke watched dully from nearby. It had been two weeks since Sakura had joined the family and she still had yet to utter a sound.

Even after Mikoto had whisked her to the store and gotten her a whole new wardrobe, she still seemed as un-Uchiha-ish as they came to Sasuke. When someone spoke to her, she stared shyly at the floor, fidgeting, overgrown bangs still shielding her eyes.

No one had been able to trim the bangs. When Mikoto had attempted to take her for an appointment at the salon, Sakura had writhed and fought and convulsed with silent screams the minute the scissors came near her.

So the annoyingly long bangs stayed. She looked like a sheepdog that had gotten into some bubblegum hair-dye, but it was obvious something about having her eyes covered brought her security.

But Sasuke still found the most unnerving thing about her was her silence. It wasn't like he had anything against quietness. It was nice for relaxation and Itachi had never been much of a talker, but she never said _anything_. Even her sneezes were silent; it was ridiculous.

When she fell down and scraped her knee several days earlier, despite cringing at the sight of her own blood and the steady teardrops that leaked from her eyes, she had wordlessly showed the cut to his mother with trembling lips.

Itachi explained that their new sister was what was called mute. She didn't speak because she was probably scared by something that made her stop using her voice.

At least that was how he'd explained it. Sasuke just thought it made her even weirder, but he tried to make an effort to get to know her all the same. It was obvious to him by now that however uncomfortable she made him, Sakura was there to stay.

He talked to her about simple things like his likes and dislikes and what he did in school—even if it was awkward to constantly have one-sided conversations.

At first he was sure it was a wasted effort, until he noticed she seemed to be absorbing everything he said silently. It was then that he decided that she wasn't all bad.

Today they were at their cousin's house, and Sakura had met Shisui for the first time. He had smiled, introduced himself and tried to get closer, when she had bolted to hide behind Itachi. Shisui looked down at the little girl clinging to Itachi's pants leg and breathing heavily, in confusion.

"Don't take it personally." Itachi said, "She's like this with everyone. It takes a while for her to open up even slightly."

Shisui had frowned, before smiling in understanding. He had decided it was his personal mission of the day to get Sakura to at least smile. So far, it was proving no easy task. She sat, watching curiously and playing with her fingers as he told her jokes and made funny faces. It seemed like she didn't quite get the concept of what he was trying to do.

Shisui sighed, running a hand through his mussed hair. "Ok, so maybe this isn't working…" he muttered.

'_Duh!'_ Sasuke wanted to say.

Itachi placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder, "If you would allow me…" he said calmly.

Shisui stared at his cousin, not sure what he had in mind, but it couldn't be any worse than his attempt, which had only gotten Sakura to look at him as if he were a strange, performing circus animal. "Yeah, sure…" he shrugged.

Once Shisui moved aside, Itachi took his place crouching near Sakura's seat. She stared at him, shifting slightly, and Itachi could almost swear she seemed to be watching curiously behind her bangs. In all honesty he wasn't sure if his approach would work, but it always had with Sasuke when he was younger.

He gingerly tapped Sakura just above her belly button, and she squirmed, though not altogether in discomfort. She seemed more surprised than scared. He poked her stomach again and this time she sucked it in, clutching it firmly as if to guard against his poking, although for the first time since Shisui had met the girl, she didn't seem nervous.

He poked her nose, and the flicker of a shy smile appeared. Shisui watched, dumbfounded as the little girl's face shone with a cute grin the more Itachi poked her.

It became a game between the two, Sakura would try to protect the spot she thought Itachi would poke next, only to have him tickle her (which she now understood is what he was _really_ doing, though he disguised it in a way that made the contact lighter, so she wouldn't be uncomfortable) somewhere else: hands, knees, stomach and underarms were all fair game.

Shisui had been trying to get her to crack so much as a half smile for over an hour and nothing had worked! Then Itachi comes along and within five minutes, she's wriggling around, and...and looking like a normal kid. He ran a hand through his messy hair and huffed. Huh.

No matter what age, Itachi always got the girl. Sasuke watched his brother playing their old game with Sakura, feeling slightly...left out. Though he'd never say it. He'd sworn off that game almost a year ago, and told his brother he was too old for tickling.

Itachi had given him an amused smile, poking his forehead. "I see," he'd said. Sasuke had been really proud of himself, taking a step closer to maturity. He wanted his father to see how hard he was trying to grow up, so much. He wanted his brother to treat him as an equal.

He had thought giving up the Poking Game meant he was getting closer to that. He'd never missed it per say, because he got to do other things with his brother, like play catch at the park, practice archery and darts and have races. He never really won...but it was fun, and they still bonded.

Sasuke hadn't really gotten to bond with Sakura much since that night. She was still cautious and tip-toed around the house like a shadow. He didn't really know what she liked, but he was getting better at figuring out what she _didn't_ like.

Thunderstorms, sudden loud noises, strangers towering over her all seemed to make her uneasy. And he noticed that the entire family was very careful about touching too. They spoke softly to her, holding her hand, patting her head or touching her shoulder. Like constant physical reminders of safety.

It was surprising, really, how much physical contact she had allowed during the night of the thunderstorm. Sasuke rationalized that her fear for being alone had outweighed her fear of him.

She seemed to warm to Itachi well enough. Everyone liked Itachi though, or at least admired him, so it shouldn't have stung the way it did. Sasuke couldn't tell if he was jealous of Itachi, for being able to bond with Sakura better than anyone else in the family, or annoyed with Sakura for taking Itachi's attention away.

He sidled closer to Sakura while she was distracted. The bright lime green dress his mother put her in complimented her hair. Her cheeks were rosy, and though her eyes were still hidden behind a curtain of pink, the happy grin transformed her whole gloomy aura.

Huffing, he looked at Shisui who was busy marveling over Sakura's change in mood. "I wanna show Sakura the secret base now." he stated impatiently.

Shisui's brow arched and he scratched his head, nodding slowly. "Oh yeah, I guess we could show her...Itachi?" he looked at his friend for permission, seeing as he clearly took responsibility for the two younger children when their parents weren't present.

Itachi adjusted Sakura on the couch, helping her sit up straight. He patted down the flyaway hairs and addressed her smoothly, "Would you like to play outside, Sakura?" Of course the little girl didn't verbally respond; her shoulders hunched slightly in apparent thought before she peeked up at him shyly as if seeking his approval. "It's alright, we can stay here. No one is going to make you," he said, directing a firm glance in Sasuke's direction when he saw his brother's annoyed pout from the corner of his eyes.

"But aniki," he whined.

"Sasuke," Itachi turned to look at his brother in the eye now. "If Sakura is uncomfortable, we are not going to make her do something against her will, understand?"

Sasuke sighed sulkily before nodding. Suddenly he was back to remembering why he didn't like her much in the first place. Talk about a buzz-kill...

Sakura and the older boys watched the clearly disappointed little boy trail to the window and stare out across the backyard at a large tree situated in one far corner, tire swing hanging from a strong lower branch and in its leafy roof, a very well-built looking tree-house. At the home, she remembered that there had been a treehouse, not nearly as nice as the one in Shisui's yard though.

She was never allowed in it. In fact, one of the other children had actually pushed her off the ladder when she had tried to climb up and join them, earning her a concussion and a split skull that needed fifteen stitches.

That experience alone should have made her fear going anywhere near the Uchiha's play fort but, against her better judgment, she slowly slid off the couch, her dress rustling and quietly crept closer to the window.

Sakura didn't dare go directly to Sasuke's side, having learned the hard way to keep her distance from people when they were moody.

She made sure to maintain a well-measured berth and carefully placed a hand on the ledge. Sasuke pretended not to notice her, even as he watched her curiously. She stared at the treehouse, at least as far as he could tell. Her small lips were pursed, her fingers were tight on the ledge, and her rose-tinted cheeks caught a stream of sunlight that shone in through the gauzy curtains.

Sasuke wondered what was going through her head in that moment. She was watching the yard intently, but she wasn't panicking. Not yet at least. Itachi stood, Shisui following, and they both carefully stepped over to Sakura, crouching to her height, careful not to startle her. The little pink haired child turned to them slowly, her lips still pursed.

Itachi very gently stroked her bangs, and for just a second her glassy apple green eyes were revealed before the hair fell back into place. Even in her damaged state, Itachi knew that Sakura was not as uncomprehending as most would probably believe her to be because of her condition. She may not have spoken once, but she was _always_ observing.

He had noticed that shortly after her arrival. It made him ache for her, for the chance to shine that whatever trauma she'd endured had robbed her of. Sakura would be, _was_, a bright child, underneath the cracked surface of fragility. "If you want to go outside, I'll be with you." Itachi promised soothingly, "If you get scared, it's alright. No one will ever force you to do something that scares you,"

Shisui watched his friend handle Sakura the way a glassmaker would handle a fancy bobble made of crystal. It was obvious that the newest addition to the Uchiha family was not exactly...a typical little girl.

Everything about Sakura, even without her physical abnormalities, told him she had experienced more than any young child ever should. Something terrifying that had taken hold of her little soul and shook it viciously. What should have been a bright, inquisitive child was a mere shell of what she probably once was.

Shisui found it heartbreaking. Kids were supposed to be obnoxious, carefree, and...and happy! Little Sakura was like a phantom, clinging to existence by a thread. When she took Itachi's extended hand ever so softly, she felt like it had taken everything in her to squeeze her small fingers around his larger ones. But she did.

He grinned to himself. Baby steps. She was coming around in baby steps. He got up and opened the door to the backyard, Sasuke watched in surprise as Itachi guided her out into the open air and sunshine, trailing closely as Shisui shut the door behind them.

The breathless, nearly inaudible yelp made him glance down at the child clinging to his cousin's arm like a lifeline. The pink locks moved softly in the gentle breeze blowing through the yard, and the small head glanced this way and that. Shisui hid his chuckle behind a fist, imagining that underneath that pink hair of hers, Sakura's little eyes were probably round in wonder. When was the last time she had been outdoors like this? Enjoying the sunshine and cloudless sky?

Sasuke glanced at his brother and Sakura before deciding he was bored and running full pelt for the treehouse. Itachi and Shisui ignored him, waiting on Sakura to make her next move.

It was important that they did things at Sakura's pace. Sakura stared at the grass underneath her feet thoughtfully before taking tentative steps toward the tire swing hanging from the big, old tree Sasuke was currently climbing.

The Uchiha boys followed her wordlessly as she let go of Itachi's hand to head toward the tire swing. Sakura stopped to admire the odd contraption for several long minutes before patting the rubber as if she was testing its sturdiness. When she was satisfied that it seemed tough enough to maintain her weight, her tiny fingers clasps the chains as she attempted to haul herself up and into the tire.

The boys gave her space to try on her own, and even Sasuke watched from the tree-house window. Sakura managed to pull herself halfway onto the tire before her arms grew tired and she flopped, belly down across the swing awkwardly, huffing tiredly.

Shisui grinned at her cute pout before slowly walking behind her, gently situating his hands underneath her arms and pulling her onto the tire swing properly before she had time to squeal. Sakura quickly squirmed to adjust to sitting atop the swing.

She was small and her feet dangled far off the ground. She whined slightly, her small fingers digging for purchase in the thick rubber. A gentle hand on her shoulder caused her to look over with a start as Itachi nodded reassuringly at her, silently letting her know he wouldn't let her be injured.

"You know what comes next, right Sakura-chan?" Shisui asked cheerfully. She inclined her head in his direction curiously.

The older boy rubbed his neck sheepishly, realizing she probably didn't know a lot about playing that most kids her age did. "Well, normally you'd kick your legs to get going, but since this is a tire swing, I'll help you." He gave her back a gentle push and Sakura made a startled noise when the swing moved, just barely rocking back and forth. "And that's all there really is to it. Although it's usually more fun the faster you go." he told her, still smiling. "I remember when I was a kid, I'd swing as fast as I could and then try to jump out-" he stopped when he noticed Itachi's disapproving look and Sakura's slightly paler face. "No worries, I wouldn't make you do that. Just hold onto the chains, ok?"

Shisui gave the side of the swing another careful push and this time, Sakura seemed more prepared and didn't yelp. Feeling encouraged, he began pushing repeatedly as Itachi stood on the other side of the tire swing, pushing back as he pushed forward.

Sakura found the sweet breeze that tickled her ears and the gentle pace relaxing, and decided that swinging wasn't so bad. Her grip relaxed and she let herself be comforted by the rocking motion lulling her eyes closed. She was even starting to trust that Itachi would keep her from falling off.

"Heey! No fair!"

The sudden weight that crashed into her and ruined the moment of serenity was enough to make her jerk violently. "Sasuke!" she heard Itachi bark as she opened her eyes to see Sasuke finish scrambling onto the tire swing.

Apparently he'd gotten bored up in the treehouse all by himself and had come down to take advantage of the opportunity to be pushed on the tire swing. He'd completely forgotten about how jumpy Sakura was.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking apologetic.

"You're one pushy kid," Shisui grumbled, sighing. Nevertheless he continued pushing the two young children on the swing and Itachi's stern countenance slowly melted into the more open expression only a select few ever got to see.

He stuck his tongue out at Shisui before turning to Sakura, "It really is more fun if you spin, ya know." he informed her. Then to Shisui and Itachi, "C'mon, let's show her how it works!"

Shisui sighed looking to his younger cousin for permission. Itachi shrugged, began to change the trajectory of the swing. It wasn't long before the two kids were being spun around from Itachi to Shisui instead of just pushed back and forth. Sasuke was absolutely gleeful, now draped over the swing on his stomach, feet dangling down. Sakura, though slightly dizzy, was also beginning to feel a little more at ease.

The tiny flicker of a grin spoke volumes for the older Uchiha boys, encouraging them to keep pushing the kids until Sasuke slid through the hole of the tire swing and flopped onto the grass, giggling on his back blissfully.

Sakura looked up at Itachi and he slowed the swing down enough for her to climb off safely. Shisui helped her to the ground and carefully squatted beside Sasuke, arms hugging her knees as she looked at his flushed face in curiosity.

Sasuke squinted at the face directly above his. At this angle, her bangs hung loosely away from her eyes, so the round green orbs were completely visible. She appeared concerned, and he waved a hand to signal he was ok.

"See," he huffed between dying laughter. "Told ya so." The young Uchiha grinned at her, and Sakura slowly returned the gesture, happy Sasuke no longer seemed as distant toward her. She scooted back so he could sit up.

"That was fun." Sasuke said, "What's next?" Sakura blinked, pointing to herself.

Sasuke made an exasperated face and stood to brush himself off. "_Yes_, I'm asking _you_. You've gotta learn how to have _some_ fun, don't cha? C'mon!" The noise the pink-haired girl made at the sudden tug on her wrist could only be described as a startled yip.

"Hey Sasuke, careful!" Shisui called as he watched his little cousin tow Sakura across the yard without pausing. He put both hands on his waist, shaking his head with a sigh. "Like I said, that kid's like a motorboat once he gets going. No stopping him. No slowing down." Itachi didn't respond and he glanced behind him to see his cousin was heading back toward the house. "Eh, where ya going?"

"To get a first aid kit. Keep an eye on them," Shisui couldn't help but grin. Not many people knew, but Itachi was a thoughtful guy, especially when it came to Sasuke and now Sakura.

The Uchiha turned to see Sasuke once again climbing the steps to the tree house, this time turning back to beckon a hesitant Sakura to follow him.

He sprinted up to the base of the tree and looked down at Sakura, who had turned at the sound of his feet shifting across the grass. Shisui carefully leaned closer to her eye level, smiling kindly. "Hey...don't let Sasuke push you around. You don't have to plunge head first into things just because he does. There's nothing wrong with not being reckless."

Sakura tilted her head and he caught a glimpse of jade green eyes through the mess of bubblegum pink hair. Shisui was just as taken aback and simultaneously drawn to the unique shade of her eyes as the other Uchiha had been when they'd first seen them.

Hesitantly, he lifted a hand and extended it toward her face, stopping a few inches short of her forehead. Sakura shifted awkwardly, but didn't immediately draw away. Shisui realized it may be more uncomfortable for her if he just left his hand hovering in the air in front of her face than if he actually did something with it.

He thought better of making contact and quickly retracted his hand, his cheeks slightly pink. "Er, y-your eyes really are pretty, ya know. Um, maybe you should consider moving your bangs back or cu-" Sakura's hands flew to her head and she shook it vehemently.

"Okay, no haircuts for you." Shisui quickly placated, lifting his palms to show her he meant no harm. "It's just something to think about in the future. Maybe you'll decide to tie your hair back or something when you feel more comfortable." he smiled encouragingly when she slowly brought her little hands down from her head. Sakura peeked at him and then stared at the grass between her feet, shrugging.

Her head lifted when Shisui continued, rubbing his chin in thought, "Huh, but you know something? Maybe it's not such a good idea to let everybody see how cute you are." He inwardly chuckled when he saw Sakura stared at him in what he assumed to be curiosity. "It might cause problems, ya know? You'd have all the boys chasing after you when you grow up, and then me and Itachi would have to fight them off with a stick." A shy smile slowly appeared on her face, and Shisui practically beamed with pride. At least he was breaking through to her, even if only a little.

Sakura didn't exactly understand everything he said, but she could since his sincerity to connect with her. This boy had a kind, earnest heart.

"Hey, hurry and come up already Sakura!" They looked up to see Sasuke poking his head out of one of the tree house's windows, hands cupped around his mouth. Sakura looked up at the wooden steps nailed into the tree's large trunk warily.

Shisui noticed she seemed unsure and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Here, let me help." Sakura watched in confusion as he crouched at her feet, waiting patiently.

"Hop on," he encouraged. "It's ok, promise." Sakura nervously placed a hand on his right shoulder, then another. It felt odd to press herself so close to someone willingly, but she managed to wrap her legs around his waist. Sakura frowned, wiggling to adjust.

Once she stopped moving, Shisui began standing slowly, then noticed her unsteady grip. "You may need to hold on a little tighter...like this, see?" He guided her arms around his neck, making sure she had a firm hold. There was a surprising amount of strength in those tiny arms if the tightness around his neck meant anything. Satisfied, he turned his head slightly to give her a small grin. "Ready?"

Sakura nodded slowly. Shisui made sure he got a good footing and hoisted himself up onto the second plank nailed into the bark. They were oval, half-steps, more like foot holds than stairs really. Sakura shut her eyes, suddenly hit with fear as Shisui began scaling the tree with ease.

Halfway up she bravely cracked an eye open to see she had buried her face in the back of his neck. Sheepishly, she withdrew, but didn't loosen her grip. The tree house, which actually had it's own front deck, was getting ever closer, and Sakura was relieved when Shisui was finished climbing and he let her down. No sooner had they stepped onto the mat in front of the little house's front door than it was flung open suddenly, causing Sakura to jump back.

"Finally!" Sasuke exclaimed, moving aside. Sakura looked up at the older Uchiha and he nodded reassuringly, holding his arm out in a welcoming gesture.

"After you, pretty lady." she shuffled inside and her hands instantly flew to her mouth as she took in the interior. It wasn't like she'd seen many, but it was definitely a step above the usual tree house. Actually, calling it a fort would've probably been more appropriate. It was an _actual_ house!

There was a sitting room with a wooden table and chair set, in front of a sleek TV mounted on one wall. The windows weren't just crude openings cut into the side of the house, but normal glass windows that opened and everything. "Isn't it awesome?!" Sasuke practically shouted in her ear, flinging his arms up. "You have to see the rest."

He didn't wait as he pulled her in further, showing her the bunk beds where they slept when they had sleepovers, the small kitchenette which actually had a juice bar and mini fridge included, the desk with a computer, and the closet where they kept everything from archery equipment to summer swimming gear.

There was even a spacious back porch, where two folding lawn chairs and several potted plants made their home. "And it's even got a bathroom too!" Sasuke rambled on. Sakura felt her head spin, trying to grasp the fact that she had been adopted by a family that owned such nice things.

Not that it hadn't been obvious with the fancy clothes Mikoto bought her and the nice car they brought her home fact that they had been so kind to her already seemed too good to be true. But now they were willing to share everything with her.

Tears bubbled up at the corners of her eyes and her lower lip wobbled. Shisui noticed the silent shakes and hissed at Sasuke to stop talking. He paused mid-sentence and watched incredulously as Sakura began silently sobbing into Shisui's consoling arms. The tears came rapidly, making audible little _plop_'s on the floorboards.

"I suppose I should have also brought tissues." Sasuke jumped, whirling around to see his older brother walking through the door with a first aid kit tucked under one arm.

"Itachi!" he cried, rushing to him frantically. "I didn't do anything! I mean, I didn't mean to, I was just showin' her how cool the tree house is and I, I-"

"I know Sasuke," Itachi interrupted calmly. "You meant well. It's possible this was too much too soon, and she's simply overwhelmed. This is enough for today." he nodded at Shisui, he silently picked Sakura up to cradle in his arms. Sasuke glanced at his older cousin holding his new sister and nodded glumly.

Itachi followed him out onto the front porch. "Anyway, it's time for lunch. Oba-san is waiting in the kitchen. Why don't you head inside? We'll be right down."

"Okay." Sasuke agreed, heading for the side and beginning to climb down. He paused suddenly, "Um, sorry..." he added quietly, before disappearing from sight.

Itachi turned back around to see Shisui coming out with Sakura in arms. "Will you be alright?" he asked.

Shisui nodded. "I can manage."

"I will head down first and wait for you at the bottom, in case you need help." Itachi started to climb down without waiting for a response.

Shisui chuckled under his breath, looking down at Sakura. "Can you believe what a worrywart that guy is?" he shifted her to one arm, securely holding her to him. "He actually thinks I might drop you." Sakura tensed in his arms and he wanted to slap himself. "Of course there's no chance of that happening." he backtracked. "I've been climbing trees since I was just a kid. You can say I'm kind of a master at it," he winked, backing down the footholds gingerly.

Nevertheless, Sakura didn't dare open her eyes or loosen her grip until she felt Shisui plant both feet on the ground again. She listened to the steady sound of his heartbeat as he walked inside his house. He set her down like she was made of glass, and Sakura took a wobbly step forward.

By now, she had calmed down and realized she'd probably freaked them out, bursting into tears like that. There was just no way to express the amount of gratitude she'd felt after realizing all the Uchiha's had done to welcome her into their lives so far, and of course all the emotions came out as tears. Sakura rubbed at her puffy eyes, noticing the wonderful aroma flooding the room for the first time. "Oh! Well if you aren't just the cutest little thing." a warm voice exclaimed.

Sakura looked up in surprise to see a dark-haired woman smiling at her. Her dark black hair was wavy "Hi, we haven't met yet, but I'm Yuu Uchiha, Shisui's mother. I was out shopping when your parents dropped you off." she came closer, bending down to pull Sakura into a hug. Surprised as she was by the forward greeting, she didn't pull away. "I'm so excited to finally meet you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's head bobbed in understand, and she managed a shy wave. "_Adorable_!" Yuu cooed. She turned to gesture to a tray sitting on the counter, leering as Sasuke sneakily stood on tiptoe in an attempt to reach. "I made you all lunch, come sit down Sakura-chan! Dig in before these boys demolish it all." She underscored this by swatting Sasuke's hand away. Itachi helped Sakura wash her hands before guiding her to an empty seat at the table beside his. Sasuke quickly ran to the one on his brother's other side, intercepting Shisui.

"Oi, you brat!" the older boy protested.

Sasuke gave his cousin a smug look, sticking his tongue out.

Shisui scoffed."Like I said: brat."

"No fighting boys." Yuu sang, coming over with a tray piled high with deli-style sandwiches. "I don't want your bad ways to rub off on Sakura-chan."

Shisui and Sasuke both hung their heads in a truce.

"Yes kaa-san."

"Yes oba-chan." they chimed in unison.

"I'm trusting you to handle this, Itachi-kun." Itachi nodded as he accepted the tray from his aunt and began rationing sandwiches between two plates, Sasuke's and Sakura's. Yuu left to retrieve the rest of the lunch from the counter, and Itachi set the tray in the middle, gesturing for Shisui to go first. "Thanks Itachi," he grinned, eagerly piling sandwiches onto his plate.

Itachi sighed at his friend's appetite, attempting to slide the tray away. "Leave something on the plate besides crumbs." he mumbled, snatching up the rest of the sandwiches before Shisui could add them to his stack.

Yuu returned with a large bowl of chips, a smaller bowl of dip, and a plate of celery sticks. Sasuke looked up at his aunt with big, disappointed eyes, "No twamamows?" he asked around a mouthful.

Yuu gave him a knowing look and placed a small bowl of cherry tomatoes beside his plate. "Just for you, Sasuke-kun," she smirked. "That good?" Sasuke's eyes lit up with glee and Yuu laughed at her nephew. By the time Yuu had returned with the pitcher of lemonande, Sasuke's cheeks were bulging and juice dribbled down the side of his stuffed mouth.

"Sasuke," Itachi sighed, "don't eat so fast. You'll give yourself a stomachache...and wipe your mouth."

Sasuke swallowed with a large gulp before wiping his mouth on the back of his arm with a contented sigh. Shisui shook his head. "This kid..." he turned to Sakura, watching her take dainty bites from the edge of the sandwich. One half looked so large in her little hands. She reminded Shisui of a mouse as she ate. "What's wrong Sakura-chan? Is it good?" Yuu asked in concern.

Sakura nodded instantly. "You may eat as much as you like." Itachi told her.

Sakura eyed him critically, as if silently wondering if that was truly the case. For as long as she could remember, she had only been given a meager amount of food, and sometimes, she didn't get that. After it was gone, she was never allowed to eat more, no matter how hungry she still was. As a result, she'd grown used to taking tiny bites, nibbling slowly, no matter how her stomach gurgled in an attempt to make it last.

"It's true sweetie." Yuu reassured her. "Even if this runs out, I can always make more." Sakura stilled, the sandwich gripped loosely in her small fingers, before setting it back down on her plate with utmost care. The Uchiha's watched in surprise as Sakura pushed herself away from the table and slid down from her chair. "Sakura?" Shisui called.

No one expected her to walk right up to Yuu and hug her legs tightly. Yuu smiled sadly, patting her head over and over as Sakura gave her the most heartbreakingly humble smile she'd ever seen. _'What this poor child must have endured...'_

"It's alright Sakura-chan. We're family now. Family cares for each other; that's what we're here for."

Sakura happily returned to her seat and resumed eating, this time with gusto to rival Sasuke's. So this was what a family was like... The boys watched in satisfaction, each feeling glad that the strange little girl was family.

* * *

**I wanted to stop holding out on this chapter sooo bad, cuz trust me, I am as excited to see where this goes for all of you. But I got stuck and it took me a while to decide where I wanted to go with it, and really, everything is kind of thought of as I go and conceptualized on the spur of the moment (like most great stories lol) so I hope you guys enjoyed this and will keep reading! I didn't enjoy this chapter too much though...The story is still young. No definite end pairing in mind as of yet, and lots of gradual development to come.**

**Sakura will probably remain mute for most if not all of the childhood chapters, which will be the first half of the story, for those of you anxious for her to talk. But I made her mute for a reason...so, keep waiting. ^.^ Haha I hope I haven't moved too fast with this...I kind of feel like I have... :/**

**Also, pleeease check out my new story Before the Dawn if you haven't yet. It has no reviews at all and I'm working so hard on the idea for it. D: It's gonna be a TobiramaxOC. Possibly a MadaraxOC. We'll see. But yeah, just wanted to say that...**


	3. Chapter 3

**I really should be working on the essays I will have due soon, but somehow find myself writing this instead. I guess fanfiction trumps Shakespeare every time. Lol **_**Anyway,**_** my prioritizing issues aside, thank you to everyone who continues to read and support this story. Really, I couldn't have made it this far without everyone's encouragement! Keep it up! For those of you who just follow (you know who you are…and thanks to setting alerts, so do I…) please drop a line and stop being a lurker…promise I don't bite. ;) Well, very seldomly. ;P It's kinda frowned upon now that I'm supposed to be an "educated young lady" so I hold myself back more. XD **

**To the one annoying person who is anonymous (surprise, surprise) that claimed I took "almost a year" to update between chapter's one and two, I think we must be on very different calendars. It was approximately five months between the time I first posted and the time I updated, butt-munch (yes, I went there), and if my updating speed is so "disgusting" to you, then please feel free to go troll another story. I have a life, fanfiction is my hobby and always will be, but plenty of other people expressed their enthusiasm and requested updates in a polite manner, I don't see why you should be the exception? That aside, all other anon reviewers are welcome, so long as you follow the same rules of courtesy expected of reviewers with accounts~ ^.^ Fair enough? Thought so. **

**Now, I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter. Even though it's a challenge and different from what I'm used to (I mean trying the slow build approach), I'm really enjoying it. A reminder that things **_**will **_**eventually get heavy, and for anyone who has triggers against **_**explicit violence/abuse and possible references to sexual content**_**, you have been warned. This chapter contains both explicit and non-explicit abuse of a minor, both of a sexual and non-sexual nature. Don't want anyone taken by surprise or fooled by the lighter bits—this story is rated M for a reason and I intend to work that rating to the fullest extent when the time comes~**

**P.S. Itachi's sister-con is gonna start showing up. Still non-sexual at the moment though. Madara, even as a teenager, is still a creepy, manipulative, but suave bastard. This chapter introduces a lot of key players, and is extra long (22+ honkin' pages on Word) to make up for the authoress' regrettable absence, so please be grateful and review. That is all.**

* * *

**Ch.3-**_Still_ _Haunted_

Fugaku Uchiha was a man of few words, but he had always thought of himself as being a man of many sensibilities. His wife would probably decry that, ranting on about his inflexibility, but really, he wasn't a difficult man. It was everyone else that insisted upon trying his patience. Constantly, if he may add.

There was just no reason that he could think of, to have a biweekly bring-your-child-to-work day. Itachi being the exception, there was simply no place for children at the station. The Uchiha Police Force was the country's largest privatized military taskforce, not a daycare center. There was a reputation to uphold.

And what had ever happened to dignity in the workplace? Apparently, all of the traditional applications of common sense had been disregarded during the last large staff meeting, for which he apparently didn't get the memo. Odd, considering he was the chief… But chief or no, the force's council (all retired members of the force themselves who still held prominent positions within the police force and clan) had decided that they needed to start incorporating "stress-relief" events to maximize the productivity in the workplace.

The men and women of the Uchiha force were highly-trained professionals, and many had extensive training in everything from espionage to assassination, yet the council insisted on coddling them. "An overworked commander or deputy that slips due to exhaustion while on duty is useless." One of the old geezers had said.

"Yes, and the last time one of our own went undercover to escort the visiting dignitary, the whole thing was nearly compromised."

Fugaku gritted his teeth and refrained from sounding fascious as he replied, "Yes, due to a sleeper agent deep within the dignitary's own entourage, if you recall." So maybe he'd failed to hide his sarcasm. He just didn't enjoy old geezers he considered to be far pass their period of use on the force wagging their tongues at him—the current chief. "It was only thanks to the quick thinking of _our_ agent that kept the incident from ending as disastrously as it might have. Besides, the press nor the dignitary placed no liability on our force—"

"So are we to sit and wait until they do?" a voice rose from yet another board member. Fugaku fought the urge to glower. That sounded like Uchiha Kanbe. He had been chief, nearly two generations ago, and was an honorary member of the board of trustees for the force. In reality, that just meant he got to sit back and criticize or undermine Fugaku's every directive.

"Yes, young Fugaku. We of the board have already proposed several methods to minimize errors and make the Uchiha Force the stalwart branch of the law it has always been. We need your full cooperation to move forward." Daichi Uchiha agreed. The nerve of that insubordinate old crow! "Young Fugaku" indeed. As if he were some greenhorn, still wet behind the ears. He had clawed his way up from humble beginnings as a cadet at the Uchiha academy to get to where he was. Now, he was the best damned chief the Force had ever seen. Not to mention that he was a grown man, with a wife and two—well, now three children, the oldest being a young adolescent.

"With all due respect, Council, the proposal that was submitted would require a drastic reallocation of the private funds we receive in order to—"

"Then make it happen. You were given the position to uphold the Uchiha Police Force, the pride of our clan, to the best of your ability. No sacrifice is too great." Kanbe interjected.  
"Yes, and the ability to see that we remain in a position of influence in the Diet hinges strongly on our performance within the force at the state and national level…In other words, generations of our clan's biggest political ambitions rest squarely on your back. If we fall due to your lack of ability to take the advice of this council, you will be the greatest shame in the history of our clan."

Furious beyond words at being backed into a corner by a gaggle of elderly delegators, the Uchiha patriarch was forced to nod, stiff-jawed, as they told him their plan to implement a series of different methods to lightening the atmosphere of the station_ just_ enough to squeeze every drop of possible productivity out of the Force. That was how he'd stormed out at the first opportunity he got to leave without making it obvious he was throwing his version of a tantrum.

As he'd half-expected, Mikoto hadn't been much help at home. She didn't see the problem with increasing capacity the private gym and spa the Force enjoyed to include a daycare service. She didn't see sense. Not _his_ kind of sense at least. Though she never had. Silly woman.

The worst thing was the very first event that was coming up. The bring-your-child-to-work day…where sticky-faced little brats would be running underfoot, and completely reversing the point of doing things to maximize worker output in the first place. Who could get things done with obnoxious brats loose? It made no difference if they were kin. The only children he tolerated at work were his son, who had never had a tantrum, even as a toddler, and Shisui, who showed nearly as much promise as Itachi and was already deep into his training as a liaison with the Force, just like Itachi.

He brought the boy with him to the office often already, because one day he'd follow in his footsteps, taking the Uchiha to whole new heights those delusional fools on the council could never even dream of in the process. Naturally, every time they had a day where the children were expected, he'd bring his son, thus complying with the overreaching policy of his less than passive council. Well, that had been the plan.

"I think it's a wonderful opportunity, Fugaku." Mikoto said easily from her place at the stove, busily tossing ingredients into the hot pot. "Sasuke will be so excited, and you can finally bond with Sakura. She still seems to be nervous around y—"

"Sasuke and Sakura?" he grunted, not in the mood to entertain his wife's notions. "I'm bringing Itachi."

"You always bring Itachi." she reminded, "I'm sure he'd be fine if you brought his brother and sister for a change. And it would mean _so _much to Sasuke, you know. He really wants to be like you, and he sees how much time you spend with Itachi."

"Sasuke is too young to appreciate the critical importance of—"

"Maybe so, but he isn't too young to appreciate spending time with his father, and neither is Sakura." Mikoto gave him a knowing look that meant she had taken her stance on the matter. After that look, somehow he always conceded. It didn't mean he was the weaker of the two, just because he let his wife feel as if she had gotten some great win over him. Fugaku saw it as more of a testament to his unwavering nature. Ultimately as the head of his large family, it was his job to keep everyone compliant. Sometimes that meant letting them think they'd had the last word. Such was the case with his wife.

The single grunt he gave spoke more to Mikoto than a sermon could have. She was back to all smiles as she took the hot pot off the stove and called the kids in from the yard for dinner. "You'll be glad you took my advice." she whispered, placing a quick kiss on his cheek just as Sasuke ran through the backdoor with Itachi and Sakura not far behind, "Trust me."

* * *

'_I am _never_ trusting Mikoto again. If there is no wrath in hell as great as a woman's, then by all means, let me gladly be damned.'_ Fugaku's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he smoothly cut off someone trying to merge into traffic. He wasn't in the mood for common courtesy. The result of his last act of graciousness was sitting in his backseat and talking him into a splitting migraine.

Sasuke hadn't stopped chattering since they'd pulled out of the driveway. He never thought adopting a mute child would be of any beneficial consequence, but with Sasuke's constant droning about how excited he was to _finally_ go to the station, Sakura's normal silence was a small blessing in comparison.

"Sasuke." he intoned levelly, stopping his son's nonstop talking. "Be silent for the rest of the ride and you may choose any model kit you wish from the toy store later."

"Really?" his boyish voice piped. "With laser lights?"

"Yes, with laser lights."

"And dual engines?"

"Of course."

"And an extra—"

"The deal is void if you aren't silent. Starting now."

Sasuke's mouth was closed within seconds. Fugaku breathed deeply, wondering why he hadn't thought of a bribe sooner. Say what one would about bribery being a form of enabling a child, but if it effectually produced the desired behavior, then it was a means to an end, and one Fugaku would gladly employ.

That reprieve allowed him time to collect his thoughts. This would be the first time others in the clan outside very close relatives met or even saw Sakura. Before, news that the Uchiha head and his wife had adopted, were all but a swirling rumor. Now that rumor was becoming fact. He knew there was bound to be mockery. Certainly not to his face, but behind his back, tongues would never cease to wag. The Uchiha were a strong people who had, for the most part, done an exceptional job of keeping their bloodlines pure for centuries. There was a reason the Uchiha name had so much pull behind it and it wasn't just to do with their modern role in society.

They had been one of the influential ninja families of the Warring Clans era in days passed, and the Uchiha clan was one of the few pureblooded noble family lines that prevailed to the day. Another was their rivals, the Hyuga, but of course that was an entirely different and completely irrelevant tale.

The point was, people were not going to be pleased that they'd not only brought an outsider with no notable blood to speak of into their folds, but one who did not fit the general mold of what an Uchiha was, even down to the odd looks. Pale skin and pink hair so bright it was impossible to ignore. Add on that the girl was mute and possibly mentally challenged for all they knew…well, Fugaku would just say he'd have hell getting the Council off his back, twice as much as before.

That thought was pushed to the back of his mind for the moment as they pulled up to the security gates where Fugaku had a brief exchange with the guard in the booth before they stopped in front of the large, grey stone building and Fugaku steeled himself for what he was sure would prove to be an endlessly long day.

"Wow," Sasuke breathed, quickly unbuckling himself. He scampered to catch up to his father, who was already strutting into the building without a second glance back, when he noticed something was missing. Oh yeah, Sakura. He looked back to see her still fumbling with the buckle. Forcing himself to slow down, Sasuke trudged back to the car with a huff and quickly pressed the button that released the seatbelt from around her little torso. She could probably use a booster…

"C'mon slowpoke… tou-san's gonna go in without us and then we might get lost." he grumbled half-heartedly, pulling her from the car. He was learning little by little to have patience with Sakura, though it was still far from easy to remember to be considerate of someone else who never said a word and always trailed after him like a lost ghost.

It gave him a whole new level of respect for the patience Itachi had always shown him. Being a big brother sure wasn't easy…Sasuke found it much easier to have someone looking out for him instead. Though, he understood even in his selfish young mind, that in Itachi's absence he was always to assume the role of Sakura's reliable elder brother to the best of his ability.

Sakura followed obediently. She had grown used to Sasuke's impatience and manhandling over the weeks. The boy never meant any harm, and in his own way, seemed to be trying to show more tolerance and respect her limitations, so she did her best to stay clear of becoming a nuisance.

That was why she couldn't panic, even if she found this new environment with so many new, stoic faces all leering down at her to be daunting. Sasuke bustled right through the front door, temporarily forgetting to be awestruck as he gazed around frantically for his father. The woman at the front desk noticed the two children standing in the lobby and looking lost, and gave him a gentle smile before pointing in the direction of the elevators. Sasuke rushed off without a reply and Sakura stumbled after him, still attached by his grip on her wrist.

They caught up to the broad-shouldered form of the brooding police chief just as his briefcase disappeared inside the elevator. Fugaku barely looked down when he noticed the two children he'd left behind in the parking look standing at his side, both looking slightly winded, with Sakura's cheeks being more noticeably flushed.

Sasuke looked up timidly as his father started to address him, "When we get to my floor, I will introduce you to my close associates; then you are to go _straight_ to the old conference room and sit with all the other children until I come for you, is that clear?"

Sasuke's head immediately bowed in submission. "Hai…" he whispered. Of course, every ounce of his twenty-five pound body screamed in protest, but he knew better than to defy his father.

He'd seen the results on the occasions when Itachi had done it before Sakura came into the picture— when they thought he was upstairs and not hiding in the hallway— and it was far from pretty. There was lots of yelling, mainly from his father, and crashing as his notorious temper flared and he stomped through the room like an angry bull on a rampage.

There was always Itachi's rebuttal in the interims of the yelling—quiet, cold, but teeming with defiance. Sasuke hadn't remembered when he'd first taken notice of the tension between his father and older brother, but with each passing day, it became harder to ignore. The mood in the house would be acrid for a day or two afterwards, like the wreckage of nuclear fallout.

Then the air would clear as his father would inevitably move on for the moment, and Itachi would go back to being the golden child. It hadn't really happened since Sakura joined the family though, probably because of her fragile state. Instead there were fierce stares exchanged.

Itachi being Itachi always got away without punishment, but Sasuke knew better than to think he would get the same leniency. He was far from his father's favorite son…

He had to do what was expected of him, so he took Sakura's hand and pulled her from Fugaku's side. Sakura watched him with imploring eyes, perhaps sensing his feelings of betrayal. Sasuke just _knew_ that when Itachi went with their father, he got to stay by his side as he worked, learning the ropes.

But he was being resigned to the kiddy corner, and babysitting duty over Sakura by default. She wouldn't pester him with annoying questions though, so that was a plus.

No one stopped them as he made his way down the hall where the smaller of the two conference rooms was located. He had gotten to go there once, just once, when Mikoto took him along to deliver something Fugaku had forgotten. He'd always had high hopes he'd be back, so Sasuke remembered the location. Now, he resented being sent there like it was some sort of time-out. People sent the police chief's younger son a curious look, watching him drag a little girl with pink hair no one had ever seen before along beside him.

Possibly this was the new child he was rumored to have adopted?

* * *

In the lounge, the Chief sighed. This day would be a long one. His Uchiha senses already told him to prepare for a maelstrom of bad luck. It was stressful being the boss, that was for sure.

"Coffee?" he looked up at the man who was extending a cup of rich, black coffee.

Fugaku took the cup and nodded in appreciation. "Thank you Kagami."

The wavy-haired man smiled as he took a sip from his own mug. "No problem, looked like you could use it."

Fugaku grunted into his sip, looking as daunting as ever, even with an "I Love Malibu" mug clenched in his hand. Kagami waited patiently for the other man to say what he already knew was on his mind. He was perhaps closer to the detached chief than most.

Not only because he was a trusted lieutenant, but because they also spent time outside the office together. Before children, work was the binding force that gave them both a healthy dose of respect for each other. Then their sons became best friends, and Kagami was seen as more of Fugaku's confidant.

"I don't know what I was thinking. Letting Mikoto have her way on this. I should've put my foot down," he said at last.

Kagami gave the other man a look of sympathy. "Bringing Sasuke to work?"

"That too. But I meant adopting," he corrected. "Why did we need more children? Two sons is enough, but Mikoto insisted she needed a daughter and I 'wouldn't give her one', so here we are." the police chief drained the rest of his coffee in a large swallow.

Kagami knew his old friend well enough to suspect he wasn't happy with the arrangement, though he hardly expected him to admit it so openly. "Sakura seems like a good child. Yuu told me she wouldn't eat until she was told it was okay. Then she hugged her." Fugaku nodded absently.

"Yes, her communication and comprehension have always been impaired by her lack of speech according to the shelter."

"That's not what I meant at all. I've only met her once, but besides the hair and not having a voice, she just seemed a little shy. I don't see why she couldn't outgrow it, with a little time and coaxing." Shisui's father shrugged.

Fugaku tried to keep his lip from curling into a sneer at the thought. So what if he got the girl some counseling, maybe even lessons? What would it change? She wouldn't suddenly start speaking, or re-cure polio. As far as the Uchiha patriarch was concerned, normal functioning was a stretch for Sakura. The child was just too severely stunted, too damaged, to catch up.

Kagami continued, "Shisui's really taken a liking to her. He talked forever about her after you picked up the kids. From what he says, she understands a lot more than she lets on." Fugaku considered this wordlessly. It was a stretch, but maybe the girl wasn't utterly hopeless.

"Maybe I'll talk to Mikoto." he muttered, "She's already learning to sign with an instructor we bring in every week. If the lessons pan out, maybe I'll see about getting her in a private program with other…disabled kids."

"Couldn't hurt," Kagami replied good-naturedly.

Fugaku fought a scowl as his colleague turned around. '_That's what _you_ think._' Fuaku didn't consider himself cruel, but it was only natural, in his opinion, to be somewhat disgruntled about a decision he'd never had full control over. Sakura was there to stay, though, and he supposed he could at least attempt to accept her. It didn't mean he had to lavish as much attention on her as he did Itachi, did it? He would just be a neutral parent figure in her life, maybe push her if the need came, like he did with Sasuke. That approach seemed to work for his younger son, who constantly strove to gain his recognition.

He stared at the bottom of the empty mug, rolling his shoulders as he wondered how much different it could possibly be to raise a girl.

* * *

Uchiha Izuna eyed his brother warily from the corner of his eyes, frowning when he caught the gleam in that always aroused suspicion. Madara hadn't said a word, but the silence that had descended over the room only put the younger Uchiha more on edge. Not many could read Madara, not even their own parents. Most were content to just stay far away.

But it never crossed Izuna's mind. For better or worse, if no one else in the world was willing to follow his brother into the dark of his twisted mind, Izuna would. While it was traditionally the older sibling who protected the younger one—which, to an extent Madara had done when they were growing up—Izuna began to realize as he got older that it was his obligation to dutifully plod behind his brother, watching him fall from grace to become the ostracized prodigy that he was, his duty to watch him rise from the ashes like a phoenix, feathers gleaming an obsidian so deep that hell's fire paled in comparison. _That_ alone was Izuna's destiny. To follow Madara into his descent of madness.

When Madara got like this, he might as well be tittering to himself like a child who'd just done something particularly sneaky. Izuna pushed the chemistry homework aside as he craned his neck to meet Madara's eyes. Molecular fusion could always wait. "What's gotten into you? You've never been this secretive to me."

The Uchiha looked at his younger brother, his face a mask of nonchalance, and Izuna sighed. "Are you going to make me guess?" he stared in half-hearted accusation.

Sometimes he swore Madara derived some great thrill in the way he held him tethered helplessly, able to cut him down on a whim at any time. He liked feeling like he had someone he could bat around who stayed because he wanted to. There was no manipulation involved, no heavy shame hanging over his head being exploited.

Izuna stayed because it was the right thing to do, and because Madara was his world. He allowed himself to be toyed with because it gave his brother pleasure, and that was enough. Then a thought struck him, a conversation they'd had several weeks prior, and a nervous thrum traveled from his fingertips into his whole body. "Is it…about that thing you told me? Fugaku-san's adopted daughter…?" Madara's eyes dilated, pupils sharp slits like a cat's.

"Her name is Sakura." His deep voice rumbled. Izuna's eyes widened and his back went stiff. He could feel his brother's fascination with the girl, just by the way he purred the name, but there was no fathoming what could be going through Madara's head. From what he'd heard, she was just a child, a vulnerable little girl with emotional issues.

"Okay, Sakura." Izuna tried the name out and decided it rolled off his tongue quite nicely. It wasn't the most unique name ever, but he still found it appealing. Feminine, traditional…crisp. "It's about her then."

"Well," Madara considered, crossing his long legs and regarding him with a languid but somehow regal pose. "Yes and no. She's just a child. As much as her abnormalities interest me, there is nothing about her particularly that makes me think _she'll_ grow to be of any real concern. My thought is simply how her arrival changes the dynamics of the family hierarchy."

Izuna cocked his head, brows furrowed in curious regard. "I don't see how it would. Itachi-san is to be Fugaku-san's heir, and if not him, than perhaps Sasuke, but from what you've said, this Sakura is, well, unfit." he shrugged.

"Unfit to be a threat to the plan. But perfect in plenty of other ways." Madara told his brother.

Izuna turned those words over in his head then frowned unsurely. "Brother…you can't—"

Madara stood suddenly, strutting with all the grace of a jungle cat, his long hair swaying behind him. "I'm going to speak to father. Coming little brother?" Izuna hesitated before rising from his seat, taking off his reading glasses and placing them neatly at one corner of the desk.

* * *

Sakura glanced around warily at all the dark-haired children running around the empty boardroom, staying especially close to Sasuke's side. There were probably about fifteen of them when they'd walked in, playing a game of tag, by the looks of it. She watched a girl climb up on the table as a boy about the same age tried to pull her down from below.

"Sakura," he grunted, "You can let go." She pouted up at him, lip quivering, but released his arm in fear she would annoy him. "These are just our cousins." Sasuke added.

Sakura blinked, unaware that she had this many new cousins. She'd naturally assumed Shisui and the tall, young man with the long hair were it. Apparently the Uchiha were a much larger family than she'd originally thought. She deflated instantly when she recognized that her unique hair and eyes once again set her apart. No one would ever mistake her for a member of the clan by birthright. She looked at Sasuke, who seemed anxious to let go of her hand and join in with the others, and felt bad that he had been tasked to keep watch over her.

Sakura knew what she needed to do, but letting go of the only familiar thing in the room seemed terrifying. Until a ball of orange and blond zipped by clipping her shoulder and causing her to falter. Sakura shook herself off from the unexpected impact, her grip on Sasuke severed.

The Uchiha boy beside her looked around with wide eyes, which narrowed accusingly when he saw a little boy unlike the others laughing raucously and pointing at a disgruntled older pair of children. "Told ya, told ya!" he crowed, his crown of sunny yellow hair immediately catching Sakura's attention. Could he be an outsider, too? "I caught you fair and square."

The girl frowned, her long ponytail of ebony locks whipped as she stared at the boy beside her, exasperated. "What now Iori?! I told you, you should have never said we'd let him follow us around if he caught us." She hissed to a boy with a slightly upturned nose and squinted eyes. He was the first unattractive Uchiha that Sakura had ever laid eyes on.

"Quiet, Agane. I know what I'm doing," he ground out bitterly. Turning to the oblivious blond, who was grinning from ear to ear, he smirked. "Good job, Naruto. You caught us, just like you said."

The boy, probably no older than Sasuke, puffed his chest out with pride. "But all that running around made us tired…would you do something else for us?"

Naruto's bright eyes popped open with curiosity. "Something like what?" he asked, failing to notice the widening grins of the twin Uchiha.

"Well, maybe you could go get us a snack from the break room." Agane suggested cleverly.

Iori nodded eagerly, "Yeah, that'd be great. Dumplings for me, and whatever they have laying around for Agane." His sister elbowed him sharply.

"Don't be stupid!" she growled. "I want some powdered donuts, Naruto-chan." She told the younger boy kindly.

Looking hesitant, Naruto tilted his head in question. "Uh…"

"Oh please! We're so hungry! We can't leave the room or our parents will scold us, but you're the son of a visiting dignitary, so I'm sure no one will mind." Agane explained.

Sasuke stepped up beside the blond, Sakura trailing behind closely. "Naruto-baka, you're here too?" Naruto jumped, startled, but then became excited when he saw his rival and classmate.

"Sasuke!" he cried, "When did you get here?"

"Y-Yeah Sasuke…" Iori stammered, afraid they had been caught. When did y-you get here?"

The young Uchiha huffed, arms folded. "My dad is the boss here, remember?" To the older children he shrugged, "Not that long ago."

Iori and Agane seemed to relax, bustling off, but not before Iori gave Naruto a pat on the shoulder and a meaningful look as a reminder.

The blond blinked, momentarily forgetting the request. "Uh, okay? But then…who's she? I thought you didn't like girls!" he exclaimed, pointing at Sakura. The pinkette stumbled back, not used to someone with Naruto's exuberance. Sasuke quickly interceded on her behalf.

"That's Sakura. She's my sister, so back of, dobe."

Naruto's expressive blue eyes stared in shock, "Eh?! That can't be right! She's too cute!"

Sasuke withheld the urge to slug Naruto in the face. "She's adopted."

"What's…adopted?" Naruto tested the word out on his tongue awkwardly.

Sasuke's nose wrinkled in disgust. How stupid could one kid be so clueless?! Sakura studied the blond with expressive green eyes, ever hidden. No one had ever called her cute! Well, besides maybe Mikoto, Yuu and Shisui.

He hadn't even seen her face yet, and he thought she was cute? Sakura blushed prettily, flattered. Despite his loud, brash nature, it was obvious Naruto meant no harm, whoever he was.

"Forget it…" Sasuke grumbled. "She's my sister; that's all you need to know." Sakura knew inside that he only meant it as a way to deter Naruto from taking interest, but her heartbeat sped up all the same. Sasuke called her his sister! Did that mean he _fully _accepted her now?

Totally ignoring the cantankerous boy's glare, Naruto side-stepped Sasuke to lean down into Sakura's face with a happy grin. "Nice to meet ya, Sakura-chan! Let's be friends!" Sakura stared at the boy, astonished. Sasuke must have mistaken her expression of awe for fear, because he hauled Naruto back by his collar.

"Get out of her face, dead-last!"

Naruto pulled away angrily. "You can't tell me what to do, stupid Sasuke! Sakura-chan can decide whether she wants to be my friend or not."

Sakura watched as Sasuke bristled, shaking his head. "No. She's _my _sister so she's not going to be _your _friend."

Naruto stuck his tongue out. "Whatever! I'm gonna go get some snacks!" he announced. "Wanna come Sakura-chan?"

Sakura pointed to herself at the sudden invitation, bemused.

Sasuke once again ran interference, stepping in front of Sakura to block her from Naruto's grasp as he reached a hand toward her. "We're not supposed to leave this room. You can't either, dope."

Naruto slapped both hands over his ears, face twisted in a comical grimace. "Stop telling me what to do, Sasuke!" he ran from the room, calling behind him. "I'll bring you back a dumpling or something Sakura-chan!"

Gaping, Sakura quickly took Sakura by the wrist and followed suit. "I'm not letting him mess around in here!" he declared to Sakura.

The two followed the flash of an orange t-shirt down the hall and almost stumbled over the legs of some passing office workers. Luckily they were minor peons around the station and far from authoritative enough to stop the police chief's son and his friends from running the halls. Best to just clear out of the way…

Sasuke ignored them, bustling Sakura in the direction he thought he had last seen Naruto go in. Clearly, the blond idiot was lost. Not that it was unexpected. Sasuke quietly clued Sakura in that they were going to head Naruto off at the break room, and when he finally did come around the corner, Sasuke was there waiting in the doorway, arms folded and face smug. Naruto skidded into him with a yelp, nearly knocking the young Uchiha off his feet. Sakura gasped, hands covering her mouth in worry. When both boys had picked themselves up, Sasuke immediately started berating his classmate.

"What the heck are you thinking?"

"Move it Sasuke!" Naruto yelled back. "I'm gonna get snacks for me and Sakura-chan! Oh, and those older kids too…they said they'd make me the boss o' the games for the rest of the day if I could."

"They're just trying to get you to do something they know they'd get in trouble for, dummy!"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah well, so what? I'm hungry…breakfast was like a bajillion years ago!" Somehow he managed to push past Sasuke and into the deserted break room, where snacks—mostly sweets— lay spread out. Sasuke scowled as Naruto started jumping, trying to reach the platter without success.

"Don't just watch me! Help me out here!" he demanded, glaring at his rival.

"No. I hate sweets."

"Selfish jerk!"

Sakura watched Naruto continue to flail—and fail—as he tried to reach the edge of the plate, grazing it but never causing it to move any closer. Truthfully, she was hungry too. Her stomach grumbled with dissatisfaction as she stared at the perfectly good snacks without making a move to go for them. But she couldn't. It was too far ingrained in her mind that she would be punished for doing so. She would just stay back and let Sasuke handle—the loud rumble from her belly alerted both boys, and Sakura covered her face in embarrassment.

"Sakura, are you hungry?" Sakura peeked shyly at her brother, nodding. Sasuke figured she had probably nibbled at her breakfast again. Fugaku had been rushing them to get ready, and if she wasn't encouraged properly, Sakura would willingly abstain herself from a proper meal.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan; I'll get you a nice big plate of dumplings now!" Naruto promised, hopping vigorously now. Sasuke walked up to his annoying school-mate with a resigned sigh.

"You're never gonna reach it. Move back and let me try,"

Naruto stopped to stare at Sasuke incredulously,"Eh…?"

An inch or two taller, Sasuke's fingers ghosted the rim of the platter, but he still couldn't pull it down.

Naruto snickered. "Can't do it either, can ya?"

Sasuke's face became slightly pink as he turned away. "Shut up…" Sakura frowned, wondering if she should try to help. Not that she saw how she could. Shorter than even Naruto, she would be useless.

"I got an idea!" the blond suddenly announced. Sakura gave him her full attention, interested, but Sasuke just look exasperated.

"Well, hurry it up. Someone could come soon."

"We could help one of us get up there—stacksie-style!"

"I'm not letting you crawl on my back."

Sakura's stomach gave another involuntary groan and she shuddered. Naruto looked at his rival as if to say that proved his point. Sasuke gave the blond a hard glare before getting on his hands and knees. Naruto rushed over to clamber onto him without hesitation. "Okay Sakura-chan, your turn now!" he turned to grin at the pinkette, ignoring Sasuke's grumbles of complaint. Shaking her head slowly, the little girl backed away in fear.

"Aw, what's wrong? I won't drop you…." The boy said, blue eyes looking hurt.

"But I am gonna drop _you_ if you don't hurry up and get off!" Sasuke told him moodily. "If Sakura's not gonna do it, then this is pointless!" he began trying to buck Naruto off his back, but the blond held fast.

"Please Sakura-chan! Please with a bowl of miso ramen and an extra egg on top?"

Sasuke faltered, knowing Naruto only ever seemed to have ramen on the brain. Sakura hesitated, looking at Naruto's face and feeling guilty. They were only doing this for her, anyway. She inched toward them, standing beside Sasuke and waiting for instruction.

Naruto whooped, "Alright! Hop on!"

"Just get on slow…" Sasuke warned, straining as Naruto pressed his full weight onto him. Sakura studied the two, trying to find the best way to crawl on. She finally approached from the side, letting Naruto help her up as Sasuke's arms buckled at the added weight.

When Sakura was as comfortable as she figured she'd get, she tapped Naruto on the top of the head and he slowly pushed himself into a kneel, Sakura on his shoulders. Sasuke hissed in contempt, but stayed quiet as Sakura shakily reached for the tray.

"Alright, she's got it!" Naruto cheered as Sakura grabbed the plate of sesame dumplings and dango, dragging it toward her. "H-hey, stop moving, Sasuke hissed in contempt, but stayed quiet as Sakura shakily reached for the tray. "Alright, she's got it!" Naruto cheered as Sakura grabbed the plate of sesame dumplings and dango, dragging it toward her.

"H-hey, stop moving!" Sasuke yelped as Naruto began wiggling, "Y-you're heavy!"

"Whoa, I can't help it…I think my leg's asleep!" Naruto whined.

"Well wake it up!"

Sakura gasped silently as the clumsy tower started to teeter, her heart thudding as she suddenly pictured falling backwards and the painful landing waiting for her. Why did she think this would be a good idea again?

If she'd been able to, she would have screamed when the "tower" suddenly toppled and she went careening backwards, snacks still in hand. She expected the pain, not the two arms that snagged her at the last minute and lowered her carefully back onto her feet. Still shaken, the pinkette stood there, clutching the stolen sweets and shivering in shock.

"You're okay," an unfamiliar voice assured her. Gulping, she peeked up into the face of a kind-looking older boy she'd never seen before, who had hair to his shoulders that jutted downward. The pained groans from nearby distracted her from her analysis and she looked at Naruto and Sasuke, laying in a heap and slowly trying to untangle themselves.

"I hope that was worth it," a deep voice chuckled. Sakura squealed, whipping around to see the same man from the night she'd been brought home, standing beside an older man with an intrigued gleam in his eyes.

"Urgh…Uncle Madara…a-and Uncle Tajima?" Sasuke groaned, gathering imself and dusting off.

"Hello Sasuke. Shouldn't you be in the room, waiting with the others? It's not like you to be so mischievous." Madara chided, though his eyes were solely focused on Sakura.

"And what's the ambassador's son doing here? Don't tell me you got him mixed up in all this too?" The younger teenager blinked, studying the now sheepish looking Naruto.

"A-Actually, it was my idea…" he admitted, raising a hand meekly.

"I see. Then I suggest you not cause any more mischief. You father is here to seal an important partnership, young man." Tajima scolded.

"Y-yeah, sorry…just please don't tell my papa…" he begged. "Oh! And don't be mad at Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura-chan?" Tajima repeated, studying the cowering pink-haired child, storking his chin in interest. Madara was right. She was a weak, pitiable looking little thing.

Izuna crouched to be on eye level with her, gingerly taking the tray away and handing it off to his brother. "So you're Sakura? I'm Madara's younger brother, Izuna." Izuna's soft smile turned into a frown when he noticed Sakura appeared to be trying to make herself appear as small as possible by curling into a ball.

"Are you scared?" he asked gently. Then, leaning forward to whisper conspiratorially, "I know my father and brother are scary-looking, but you're an Uchiha now, aren't you? We're family Sakura." Sakura instantly looked up, hearing him repeat the same words she'd heard from Auntie Yuu not so long ago. He motioned to Madara and the elder brother came, studying his brother's gentle demeanor as he took a stick of dango and handed it to Sakura.

"Here, you were hungry, weren't you?" Sakura eyed the snack hesitantly, but then her grumbling stomach got the best of her, and she took a bite. It was mouth-watering.

Maybe that was why Naruto was suddenly drooling. "Ahh…" he pouted, hand rubbing his belly, "I'm hungry too." He looked at Madara with crazed eyes, as if he were contemplating attacking him for the food.

Madara grudgingly gave the small blond a stick of dango, grimacing as he tried to fit them all in his mouth at once. Honestly…

"It's even better with tea." A new voice added. "At least that's what Itachi says."

Sasuke huffed as his cousin strolled into the room, smiling. "Shisui, _you're_ here too..."

Shisui gave the little boy a wry smirk. "I _do_ work here, runt." Shisui nodded respectfully at his uncle and older cousins, taking a dumpling and biting into it with a sigh. Madara's face took on an annoyed countenance. "Would you also like some green tea with that?" he quipped dryly.

Just because he was holding the tray, everyone appeared to think he was a servant.

"If it's not too much trouble," Shisui grinned smugly. Izuna watched the exchange, anticipating bickering. His brother wasn't really known for his excellent people skills.

Sakura also felt the tension building, slowly backing away to stand behind Sasuke. Inwardly she was happy to see Shisui again, but being around so many unfamiliar faces, she was too intimidated to go and greet him. Not to mention he currently seemed occupied, staring down Madara-san…

…

A man suddenly poked his head through the door a shock of spiky blond hair that matched Naruto's taking Sakura's breath away yet again. It was really such a warm color. She now understood why people found yellow to be "cheerful". It was clear by his hair, bright blue eyes and tanned skin that he was no Uchiha. More importantly, it was clear that this man was Naruto's tou-san. On cue, he noticed the small group of children and sighed.

"Oh, there you are Naruto." The blond man with dazzling blue eyes smiled kindly. Oblivious to the tension in the room. "I hope you haven't been causing trouble." Naruto put on his most innocent face, shoulders shrugging to his ears.

"Nothing we couldn't handle, Namikaze-san," Tajima replied smoothly. "I take it the negotiations went well."

"Oh yes, thank you for the hospitality, and keeping an eye out for Naruto. He's a bit of a handful at times, so I was worried…"

"He was so quiet, it was like he wasn't even here…" Madara trailed off, a flash of distaste for the little blond brat showing. The blond man nor his son seemed to notice, though.

Minato slowly smiled, expelling a breath of relief he couldn't help but hold. "Alright then, just like I promised we can go to the park now." Naruto cheered.

He ran to his father's side, hugging his leg tightly. "I want a triple scoop of ice cream when we get there!" he told his dad, "And don't skimp on the sprinkles!"

Minato laughed nervously. "You sure know how to put me in a tight spot…If I brought you home with a sugar-rush before dinner, your mother would kill me." Naruto pouted, "Mou, mou papa! I made a new friend today!" he pointed at Sakura, who peeked at the father son duo shyly.

Minato noticed the little girl for the first time, chuckling as he registered his son's excitement. "Is that so? And what's this friend's name?"

"Sakura!" Naruto replied helpfully. "Uh, she doesn't talk…" he muttered awkwardly.

Minato looked at the little girl in surprise. So this was the little girl Fugaku was rumored to have adopted, huh…? Kushina's best friend Mikoto had called her not long ago, gushing about her new daughter.

"I-I see…"

"But I still like her a lot!" Naruto exclaimed brightly. "Can she come to the park with me?!" he pleaded, making large blue puppy dog eyes.

"O-only if Fugaku-san says it's okay…"

"Then I'll go ask him!" Naruto rushed off.

"N-Naruto, wait! Y-you can't just—You have your mother's impatience all right." Minato stared apologetically at the others gathered in the room before rushing to catch his son.

* * *

Sakura sat down, scooping handfuls of sand into her hands and letting the loose grains slip between her fingers. Not many others seemed to be around. A boy and girl played on a see-saw, some women sat on benches knitting or gossiping and Naruto had run to the portapotties while Minato-san went to get ice cream. She could still see him from the small hill the vendor was set up on, and waved shyly when he turned to smile at her.

She was content to remain there, occupying herself in the sandbox. It was generally safer than venturing to interact with other children, who may or may not receive her attempts to play warmly. Children often had a knack for perceiving differences in others in a much keener way than adults gave them credit for. Just as a herd of animals in the wild knew to leave a sick member behind to avoid being slowed down, a group of children knew who to exclude.

They picked out the outcast, and inevitably that was her. Sakura didn't mind it as much as she once did. The taunts, the bullying, the sometimes out of hand and even violent acts committed against her were all freshly ingrained, of course. But the Uchiha family had given her a place among them, and she was slowly learning to treat them as a permanent fixture in her life.

All her energy was focused on being the best possible child she could, to avoid the heartache of being left behind yet again. So far they didn't seem tired of her. Sasuke was warming up to her. Itachi was infinitely patient.

Yuu and Shisui welcomed her immediately and Mikoto was exceptionally nice, everything she always imagined the perfect mother to be. Only the man, Fugaku-san, her new tou-san, still seemed distant. Though from what she'd observed, it may not have been her, but just his way.

Feet suddenly ran right through her small mound of sand, kicking grains into her face and causing her to yelp in protest. Sakura carefully rubbed the sand from her eyes, now watering with the effort to flush out any remaining excess, while wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve.

"Whoa," she heard an older kid's voice say, the crunch of several pairs of feet stopping around her. When she was able to look up into the faces of three older children looking down on her small body, her eyes widened and she felt her heart clench with cold terror. At the same time, their eyes also seemed to gleam with recognition and an evil grin spread across the oldest one's face.

"Well, well little mousie …we meet again." he crouched down so he could peer into her face, forcefully moving her bangs, and Sakura trembled. "Whatsa matter, your new family get sick of you already? Did they drop you off here and leave ya?" Sakura bit on her lip, trying to shake her head, though the hand that ghosted through her bangs to grip a fistful of hair restricted her movements.

"Still not talking, huh?" said another boy with a large gap and small, beady eyes. He was holding a plastic tee-ball bat and wearing a worn baseball mitt on one hand. "Guess some things never change. Hey Akiro, we should play with Sakura, you know, for old time's sake."

The boy who still had a tight hold on her hair, Akiro, smiled tightly, his hand tugging her hair so her head flew foreword. "Good idea, I've missed our special games, Sakura." he whispered, "It got boring at the orphanage without you. No one is as fun to play with as you are."

Sakura's eyes became wide and glazed, her mind taking her back to a dark place from not so long ago.

_Why did this always happen? Didn't the care-givers see what was going on? The sad realization sunk into Sakura's head as she ran, stumbling through the old house in search of somewhere safe—if in fact such a place existed. Of course they saw; they had to. By now the inexplicable bruises were becoming obvious. It had been discreet at first, hardly noticeable. But as time passed Akiro cared less and less for hiding the evidence when he realized that the adults were more than willing to turn a blind eye._

_And so Sakura came to the somber conclusion that anyone who had the power to help her, wasn't going to. No one cared. That was why she'd had to fend for herself for months since being moved here. The old home she'd been in wasn't bad. Sure no one was really anymore compassionate, but at least there the other children kept their distance._

_She was happy to be by herself if this was the alternative. She heard the loud, clumsy steps not far behind her and quickly lunged for the small closet under the stairs, not sure if it was the best place to hide, only knowing she couldn't remain in the open. Her heart thundered in her ribcage as she waited for the footsteps to pass, curled up by a rusted old mop bucket and some dirty cleaning rags. It felt like an eternity, shivering in the dark and either waiting for the danger to pass or to be discovered. _

_To take her mind off of what probably waited for her on the other side of the door, Sakura preoccupied herself tracing the patterns made by the knots of wood in the floorboards. By now she must have done something like this close to a hundred times, and she had only been here a short four months. But the hiding, the constant living in fear, had come long before that, before the last place, almost as far back as she could think of. _

_Sakura supposed it was probably sad, because she was intelligent enough to piece together the treatment she'd received almost her whole life wasn't normal. But she'd resigned herself that she'd never get better. She wasn't worth better, according to just about everyone she met._

_It started out when she could barely walk, vague shadows of memories of a woman, young, blond, beautiful, and so many men. Day in and day out, coming and going. They lived in a small, ratty house, not that Sakura had much to compare it to at the time. She remembered that the woman kept her clothed in old hand-me-down clothes almost two sizes too big, and occasionally remembered to feed her. _

_She got by on scraps that were left out, mostly, but it was never very satisfying, so she grew accustomed to the dull pangs that never completely left her stomach. She remembered it always smelled funny, and that the woman didn't pay her much attention. Sometimes the men did, though. They leered down at her, taking an interest in her that made her more than uncomfortable, and talking to the woman with a keen interest. The woman would always laugh, brush them off though._

_So they didn't touch her. But something told Sakura they could, at any time. The woman wasn't physically capable of stopping them if she wanted to, but it was clear they had some sort of mutual agreement that kept Sakura off limits. _

_Then, things changed. A new man came one day, and nothing seemed to deter him from the intense interest he had in Sakura. The woman was flippant, just like always, but as he persisted, she grew worn down and left her alone with him one day. Sakura remembered how he petted her head with a large, heavy hand, and then tried to lift up the clothes that she was always drowning in. She fought and screamed, kicked and cried._

_In the end, it was banging on the front door that stopped him. He hurriedly fixed her clothes back to the way they were, and the woman came running back in, sounding frantic. Sakura stayed curled in a ball as they talked, obviously both in a panic. The woman started to pace and the man slammed a giant fist into the wall. Then he whirled to yell at her. The woman yelled back, and soon they were arguing loudly, things flying, and fist meeting flesh._

_He took her long hair and slammed her head repeatedly into a broken lamp. Sakura watched in muted horror, afraid to breathe. When he was done and her body dropped to the stained carpet, limp, he gave her one last look and then ran, stumbling out of the house. It was several days, alone with the cold body, before anyone came._

_People in blue uniforms, going from room to one with shiny dark things pointed into the shadows that a feeling in her gut told her were dangerous. When they found her, she was practically a shell, and they picked her up and whisked her into a big white vehicle waiting outside. She spent a little while in a hospital, and when she was released found herself in her first home. _

_There were lots of screaming kids everywhere, bickering and playing and there were about five adults who always looked tired. Sakura had quickly been brushed to the background, which was nothing new. It stayed like that until she had the misfortune of meeting Akiro and his crew, who took particular pleasure in eliciting screams of pain or cries of fear from her whenever possible. _

_When she still spoke, she would plead with them to stop, and the louder she pleaded the more it would go on. That was how she found herself here, hiding and hoping they forgot. But she knew better. They never forgot. _

_She dozed off there, exhausted, drifting in and out of a fitful sleep. Sakura wasn't sure how long she'd been out when the door was suddenly thrown open and Akiro's grinning, freckled face popped into view as his much larger body hunched into the tiny door way. "Found ya," he smirked, speaking to someone from over his shoulder. "We got the mousie cornered." There was loud jeering from behind her and Sakura knew she was outnumbered. "Come out here, and we won't mess you up too bad, okay?" Sakura wasn't the least bit convinced by the soft cooing voice and shook her head._

"_Why not? Don't we always have fun? Aren't we good enough for you?" Akiro asked with a mock whine. Sakura pushed herself as far back in the corner as she could, the bucket clattering behind her._

"_Well if she won't come out, we can make 'er." The voice of Takaya said from somewhere behind Akiro. "That's always half the fun."_

_Sakura was scared of what they'd do when they got their hands on her this time, but it didn't make her budge. She was no fool. All the times before her had taught her that it didn't matter if she went peacefully or put up a fight. The results were still the same. So she figured that she might as well resist. _

"_Ok," Akiro sighed, "Well, we did warn you." He backed up, and for a fleeting moment Sakura felt hope, then the hulking form of Reido, a twelve-year old that _had_ to be on steroids took his place, and Sakura felt an iron grip latch around her ankle as she was yanked forward. _

_She screamed at the top of her lungs, scrambling for something to hold onto and throwing the bucket at him when she didn't find anything. He grunted, glaring at her, before swiftly dragging her upside down so she was dangling in the air by her ankle. She was shaking so much she didn't even notice her shirt had risen above her head, exposing her pale stomach. The three boys carried her all the way to the bathroom that way, bickering amongst themselves about who got to go first as Sakura kept her hands firmly covering her eyes, afraid to look. _

_Suddenly she was dumped on the cold tile and pinned there with a hand on her throat before she had the chance to sit up. She heard the water running in the tub and the door lock as grimy hands reached and tugged at her shorts and underwear, taking them both off roughly. "No!" she screamed, flailing so that Takaya had to help hold her down as Akiro took off her shirt. "No! No! No!" _

"_Ugh, damnit, stop movin'!" Reido grumbled. Sakura responded by kicking him in the nose and Reido slammed her head into the tile in retaliation. Sakura fell silent after that, head pounding and stars dancing in her vision._

"_I hate this. Why do we always halfta make the younger ones take their baths?" Reido continued as Akiro finally turned off the water. _

"_Because," he smiled darkly, "We're the best at handling the feisty ones. Like our little mousie here."_

"_That's true!" Takaya giggled. Reido slowly released his grip on her throat as Akiro crawled forward on his knees, pulling Sakura by the hair until they were almost nose to nose. _

"_Ready for your bath, mousie?" he growled. "You must be dirty from crawling all over the place, but don't worry, we'll make you clean again." Sakura opened her mouth to scream and regretted it when her head was dunked under the icy water and held there while she struggled. He brought her up just as her lungs burned, letting her sputter for breath before repeating it._

"_I love our games so much, Sakura." Akiro sighed. Sakura's last conscious thoughts were someone pounding on the door and being ripped away from the trio before her world was blissfully dark. _

Sakura's eyes met Akiro's muddy brown ones, which spoke of unfinished business. The other boys stayed close, blocking the view of her body from a distance as Akiro pushed her face in the sand, rubbing it there and laughing as she tried futilely to push the sand from her mouth. It was in her eyes, ears, on her tongue; up her nose…she had never realized she could be suffocated this way too. But Akiro was very clever. Of course he'd find a way to make it happen.

"You like that, Sakura? Did you miss this like we did?" Takaya asked innocently.

"Look at her face!" Reido laughed, pointing. "She's crying tears of joy, isn't she?"

Akiro stared into Sakura's heart-shaped face, sandy snot running from her nose, eyes brimming with tears that roped their way down her pale skin, cheeks bright red and puffy. Every time he saw just how pathetically weak this girl was, he got angry.

Angry that he could still see himself in her. When he showed weakness, he'd been punished, slapped, told to shut up, or worse. It had become conditioned into him that weakness was punishable with cruelty. Extreme in some cases. He wanted to rid himself of that weakness; he wanted to beat the girl senseless until he no longer saw his former self. Being the one doing the punishing gave him all the control, right? So that meant he couldn't be weak. Her eyes were almost pleading with him, and a small part of his armor chipped. A vision of his younger self blubbering and pleading replaced Sakura's face and he violently shook free, slamming her face back to the ground until he felt that wonderful numbness.

Takaya and Reido watched encouragingly, further cementing his belief that this was the right thing. He was purging himself! "Hey!" he almost didn't hear it, someone's yell of protest.

Takaya and Reido looked up as if they had heard it too, and so he paused to turn. A little girl was barreling toward them with fire in her eyes. "What do you think you big dummies are doing to her?!"

She didn't stop or slow down when she reached them. The girl, blond and probably the same age as Sakura, kicked a face full of sand at them, stepping on his fingers when he hunched over to rub his eyes, butting their heads together and yelling a war-cry the whole time. Akiro couldn't believe some little brat half their size and a third of his age was standing up to them and giving them so much hell when most adults were afraid to confront them.

"Not so fun now, huh?" she jeered, kicking Reido from behind as he wobbled to stand up, so that he fell over, on top of the lanky Takaya. The boy squabbled in protest from underneath the giant bully, but as they tried to get up, the girl pushed them right back down. Akiro started to sit up on his elbows, eyes wide, but she turned to him with a glare and threw another handful of sand right into his face. "Take that!"

Akiro roared as he stood. He'd had enough. Looming down on the little blond-haired girl with her fists packed with more sand ready to toss, he reared back, ready to smack her stupid. "You little bit—"

"Ino!"

"Sakura?!"

Akiro froze, watching as two adults came running, obviously drawn by the commotion. He didn't recognize either of them, but if he figured they'd seen what was going on he might just be in trouble. Not all grown-ups were like the ones at the home. He knew that. He didn't even wait for his friends to get their bearings; he just took off running across the playground.

"Hey!" one of the men shouted behind him. Reido and Takaya heard the adult voices approaching and decided it was time to turn tail, finally standing on their feet and fleeing behind their leader. Ino flung sand at their backs, nailing one in the back of the head.

"Yeah, serves you right!" she stuck out her tongue.

Sakura was curled into a fetal position when the two blond men arrived, the lighter haired one going to Ino and scooping her up while Minato all but tossed the ice cream cone he was holding down and knelt beside Sakura, gently touching her shoulder. She shook, unresponsive, still lost in her memories.

"Ino, what happened?" the platinum blond man asked his daughter.

"Those boys were shoving her face in the sand!" Ino then began recounting everything she had witnessed and how she'd driven them away. Inoichi couldn't help but be impressed with how his daughter had single-handedly fended off three boys twice her size, though he scolded her for being reckless. "From what Ino describes, seems like more than just your normal playground bullying." Inoichi stroked his chin. "Possibly they knew her from somewhere."

Of course as a parent he found it beyond disturbing that kids could attack a little girl so viciously. The state of shock she was in and all the sand in her hair and on her sticky face was indication enough that his daughter hadn't been embellishing. Those boys truly had been out to kill her, or at the very least do serious damage. It was something he'd be looking into when he got back to work. Maybe they had criminal records.

Minato quietly thanked Ino, his blue eyes swarmed in guilt as he never looked away from the clearly shaken little girl.

"Papa!" a little boy came running over, almost tripping on his shoelaces.

"Naruto?" Ino asked.

Naruto pointed to his classmate in shock. "Hey! What're you doin'—" Naruto felt his words die, even before his father held out an arm to slow his momentum. He gasped when he noticed Sakura being lifted into Minato's arms.

"S-Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto, let's get Sakura home ok?"

Stunned speechless for maybe the first time in his young life, Naruto nodded dumbly as his father stood to his full height. Ino, who had squirmed out of her father's hold stared at the small girl curled into the blond man's chest.

"Sakura…that's her name?" For a minute, Sakura seemed to regard her, but with the hair in her face, it was hard to tell. "Well Sakura, sorry we had to meet like this, but if you ever come back, maybe we can play together." She grinned.

Sakura vaguely realized the girl who had saved her was now speaking to her, and tried her best to pay attention. She wondered if she realized she couldn't talk…if she would still be able to understand her gratitude.

"Oh! I got it…" she rummaged around in her pocket, pulling out what looked like a simple red ribbon. She walked over and carefully handed it to Minato, who accepted it gently. "That's for your hair." she told the pinkette. "Ya know, in case you ever feel like switching up your hairstyle a little." Inoichi placed a gentle hand on Ino's shoulder, but his daughter kept speaking. "I can do it for you next time, if you want!"

The two adults chuckled lightly and Inoichi patted her head while Minato took Naruto's hand with his free one. "That's sweet of you Ino, but we should be going. Say goodbye to Sakura,"

Frowning, Ino waved, "Bye, Sakura."

Minato smiled encouragingly at his son. "You say it too, Naruto. She's your classmate isn't she?" Naruto looked up at his father with a scrutinizing face.  
"Eh? Sakura-chan's not in my cl—ooh, you mean Ino." he realized.

Pouting lightly, he grumbled a goodbye and followed his father to their car, Sakura still being carried. When Ino and her father were almost out of sight; she peeked over his shoulder and waved lightly. Ino gasped in joy, hopping up and down while she told her dad she'd made a new friend.

Once Minato had both kids safely strapped in he started for the Uchiha residence with a long sigh. How was he going to explain Sakura's state? They'd entrusted their daughter to him and this happened. He tried to suppress a groan when he thought of Fugaku's stony face. The Uchiha was already a…difficult man to get along with, even though their wives had been friends since attending the same pre-natal classes. This wasn't going to help.

Not that he didn't totally deserve the blame… His gut told him he should have brought Sakura to the line with him, but she looked relaxed, sitting there in the sandbox, and it wasn't like he couldn't see her, so he let her play.

Who would've thought she'd be attacked in the time it took him to turn around and place an order. Minato had never felt so terrible before. It was going to be hard explaining to Naruto why he'd likely never be able to play with Sakura again after he seemed to hit it off so well with her.

He glanced at the kids through his rearview mirror to find Naruto had a firm hold on Sakura's hand, whispering soothing words he often heard from his own parents. It was hard to tell if any of it was reaching Sakura.

She seemed to have pulled back deep into her mind, tuning out of the physical world entirely. At least she'd stopped rocking herself. So maybe Naruto was helping to keep her just a little anchored. By the time they reached the gated community where Naruto's classmate lived, Minato had mentally gone over about a dozen scenarios on a scale from bad to certain death.

Bad was that they'd press charges for reckless child endangerment. The very worse was Naruto would grow up fatherless. He rang the doorbell, calmly rocking Sakura as he waited. The door creaked open, an older boy peering out. One quick assessment of Sakura curled in a stranger's arms and Itachi all but threw the door open (calmly of course). Minato smiled as evenly as possible, even in the daunting aura of the Uchiha boy. He was supposed to be the adult, yet a child who couldn't have been more than a preteen was staring him down with such intensity…there was no mistaking this was one of Fugaku's sons. "Hello, I'm Minato Namikaze. My son is friends with S-Sasuke and Sakura." He smiled, but quickly dropped it when Itachi's face remained blank. "May I come in?"

Itachi stepped aside, his eyes never straying from Sakura's crumpled form, which he now saw was trembling. Minato was slightly surprised when the boy thrust his arms out but immediately placed Sakura into her older brother's protective grip. "Come with me." he beckoned, using one hand to skillfully stroke Sakura's hair.

Taking hold of his son's hand, Minato followed. For once Naruto was quiet; the severity of the situation seemingly sinking in.

The minute Itachi stepped into the kitchen he was bombarded by an alarmed Mikoto and Sasuke, both rushing over. Mikoto took Sakura from him with a gasp, telling Sasuke to call his father. The little boy pouted in hesitation before running to get the Uchiha patriarch from his study. "Itachi…what…"

"She was brought home by a Namikaze-san only a few moments ago, mother."

Mikoto turned to see Minato standing in the kitchen doorframe almost meekly, Naruto staring with wide eyes beside him. "Oh, I'm sorry, would you like some tea?" Mikoto's attempt at a smile failed as she gently slid Sakura into a seat at the kitchen table.

Minato nodded. "Uh yes, that sounds nice…" he glanced over to see the older boy pushing Sakura's bangs back to reveal glassy green eyes and a wave of guilt hit him hard. He never should have left her… At that moment Sasuke returned, practically dragging his disgruntled father. "Mikoto—" Fugaku took one look at the hectic scene and instead turned his eyes to Minato for an explanation. "Itachi, take Sakura upstairs and put her to bed." He commanded. "Sasuke, take your friend to your room."

Itachi carefully lifted Sakura up again and spirited her upstairs while Sasuke grudgingly guided the annoying blond to his room without a word of protest.

Naruto, on the other hand, squawked about being dragged around, but shut up when Sasuke yanked him into the boy's bedroom and shut the door. "Okay dobe, what happened to Sakura?"

Naruto huffed, rubbing his wrist as he glared at the other boy. "I'm not a dobe. And some mean big kids starting picking on Sakura-chan at the park or somethin'—I had to pee, so I went to find a bathroom. Ino was there too, and she chased 'em away."

"_Ino_?" Sasuke's face quickly scrunched in disdain as he thought of the outspoken Yamanaka girl in their class that regularly professed her adoration for him and clung to his arm like a second skin. Of all the people to stand up for Sakura, it had to be _her_. Now he owed her.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, you know. Ino from school that's always pushin' Shikamaru and Choji around and has blond hair? The one that likes you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I _know_ who you're talking about; I just can't believe it was her."

Naruto's confused expression turned cheeky as he grinned. "Well, believe it!"

Itachi sat with Sakura after tucking her in. Gravity kept her bangs away from her eyes, and the sight of her unblinking green orbs staring at nothing chilled his heart. He should have been there. As her older brother, it was his duty to protect her from everything that would hurt her. Hadn't he sworn he'd find a way to make up all the time she had obviously spent tormented?

"Sakura?" his voice sounded quiet even to his own ears. "Sakura, please imouto…"

Slowly, almost impercitbly, a flicker of something Itachi wanted to believe was recognition filtered into her eyes. Was she coming out of the trance? He continued speaking. "I'm not sure what happened today. But I know I failed you," he took her small hand in his. "Please, give me another chance to be the elder brother you can rely on."

Itachi watched as her small lips fell open and she began breathing rapidly, like she was gasping for air. Coal black eyes widened as he wasted no time, wrapping his arms firmly around her as he held her close, running one hand through her hair. "Come back to me." He soothed. "Fight it, imouto."

Images flashed in her mind's eye. Taunting children, painful blows by heavy fists, the beautiful blond woman, lying lifeless…then, a dark-haired couple coming to the orphanage as the little pinkette cowered away in a corner.

The woman's eyes lighting up when she saw Sakura….the kind hand that reached out to touch her face, a warm voice when the woman crouched to introduce herself, saying that she had found a home at last. A rush of excitement and warmth filling her heart that Sakura hadn't dared to feel before….hope. Meeting Sasuke and Itachi…meeting Shisui…the office and the adventure they'd had…Madara and Izuna, and the cold man, their father…Kind Minato and the bubbly Naruto, the park, the bullies…Ino. Without a noise, she convulsed, fighting it, lashing out in her panic. She felt her teeth sink into something solid, heard a quiet grunt, but the pressure around her body didn't fade. Someone was holding her…someone was there with her.

All of it went rushing by in flashes of colors and bursts of noise until she was grounded, looking up into Itachi's gentle face as he attempted to bring her back from her nightmarish visions. Sakura's vision cleared, and she saw everything with perfect clarity. She was safe for the moment, here with Itachi. Wordlessly, she collapsed against him, boneless and tired. His steady arms kept her cocooned to his side effortlessly.

She could trust him. Sakura knew she could trust this boy to keep her grounded when the dregs of madness came crawling to the front of her mind again. He chuckled warmly, "Welcome back." Sakura graced him with a small smile, until she noticed a red spot, in the juncture of his shoulder and collarbone, puffy with small, deep teeth wounds…Oh no! Then she hadn't been fighting an apparition…

Cool fingers wiped away the trickles that formed in the corners of her eyes. Equally cool lips planted a soft, lingering kiss of reassurance on her forehead. But Sakura was having none of it. She had hurt Itachi. "No." he held her steady as she tried to fight away from his grasp yet again, whining pitifully. "I'm not angry," he assured. "I understand."

Sakura stopped fussing, tilting her head back so that Itachi had a clear view of her watery green eyes, round and pleading. Without warning, she pressed her small lips to the broken skin before gently nuzzling her cheek to the injury. Surprised, Itachi drew away. When he caught sight of the hurt look in her eyes, he quickly pulled her back, petting her soft hair. The two sat in peace, embracing.

Sakura's breathing had just returned to normal when the door burst open, Naruto darting in with a shout, Sasuke chasing behind him. Sakura almost fell backwards if Itachi didn't catch her. He sighed, ready to scold the boys when more people suddenly flocked in, including his mother and Namikaze-san. "Oh, I was coming to check on Sakura…but I should have known you'd have everything under control, Itachi-kun." Mikoto beamed proudly.

Minato looked in sheepishly, gathering up his son. "Thank you for understanding, Mikoto-san…I'm sorry today didn't turn out like we planned, Sakura-chan…I'm sure Naruto would love to play with you again sometime, if you want." Sakura slowly lifted her head from Itachi's shoulder to peek down at Naruto, who was bouncing energetically. He grinned widely and she returned it with one of her shy smiles, nodding. "Yosh!" he cheered, quickly jumping onto the bed to hug her before running back to his father and grabbing Minato's hand. "C'mon Papa! You still owe me ice cream!" he said, tugging him out of the room.

"Oi, Naruto, slow down!"

Mikoto waved in understanding as the duo escorted themselves out.

"What a happy boy." She giggled. "He must take after Kushina…" she said to herself. "You've got quite the friend, don't you Sasuke-chan?" Sasuke made a funny face, hopping onto the other side of the bed, next to Sakura.

"You're okay?" he asked quietly.

Sakura nodded again. Sasuke turned to his brother to question him, but stopped when he noticed the bite mark on his shoulder. "Nii-san…"

"It's nothing, Sasuke." He said, adjusting Sakura so he could pull his shirt collar over the injury. Mikoto raised a brow in confusion, but decided it best not to question her son for the moment.

"I trust you can handle these two until dinner?" she smiled, seeing both Sasuke and Sakura curled into him.

"Hai."

"Then I leave them in your capable hands." Mikoto replied, walking to the door and closing it gingerly.

'_Always, kaa-san.'_

* * *

**Whoo! Another chapter down. I felt like I had to rescue this from what I originally had planned by making the necessary revisions. I just didn't like the first couple of drafts…hopefully there wasn't too much at once for you guys…I want to go slow, but not draaaag everything out, ya know? Nothing was too disjointed, right?**

**I know, I know…that glimpse into Sakura's past was terrible and vivid, wasn't it? I really felt like it was important to go into description about the hell she endured, to give a little more insight into how she's as broken as she is now. It's probably slowly gonna get darker from here, with some light moments here and there, so be warned. If I could put this story under all the categories it should go under, it would be classified like this: Angst/Drama/Tragedy/Hurt-Comfort/Family/Romance….in no particular order. On a lighter note…Sakura's got another new friend or two in her corner. Isn't little Ino bad-ass? Lol I always liked them as good friends, more friendly than frenemies or rivals. Some people don't like Ino but I honestly don't think she's so bad. I LOVE Naruto, so of course he was gonna make an appearance and be a close friend of Sakura's from now on as well. Yes, he will probably still have a crush on her, but her feelings for him will likely remain platonic, because of the whole Uchiha harem thing. NO NARUxHINA will be in this later! I hate that couple. **

**We get introduced to the Uchiha adults (wonderful bunch, huh? Real A+ parenting skills, all of them. Well Mikoto, Kagami and Yuu aren't really the 'bad' guys, and Fugaku gradually gets better, not to worry. I don't trust Tajima at all though! Madara has to get it from somewhere!) and learn a little bit more of some of the gruesome abuse Sakura suffered while in a foster home. This is in no way indicative of all foster homes. I hear most are very loving. This is the worst of the worst…for the purposes of the story. Again, don't read if you're easily triggered.**

**Ok, so in the manga, it is stated that Uchiha Kagami, one of the first Uchiha the second Hokage trusted, was Shisui's ancestor. In this story, he is Shisui's father. Yuu is made up, as I don't think she's ever given a face or a name. I imagine her to have long, weirdly spiked hair. Spiky like Madara's but it curls up at the end of every spike. If that makes sense? Lol Anyway, yeah, she'll pop up here and there if it suits me. The most important thing about her for now is she birthed Shisui, one of our main suitors for Sakura. XD **


	4. Chapter 4

**ATTENTION EVERYONE: From now on if you have any questions or want to know what I've got planned for the future I encourage you to look at my bio page for updates. IF your question is still not answered/addressed there, feel free to PM me to talk anytime in between new posts. Thank you~**

**As some of you may know if you visit my bio at all, I've been missing my muse for quite some time now…to try to recover it, I've been trying to become re-immersed in the Naruto characters…mainly through playing the Ultimate Ninja Storm series on PS3. It's let me get to know some characters that don't get much screen time in the anime or appear much in the manga (like some of the other Jinchuriki besides Naruto and Killer Bee), and helped me get reacquainted with characters I thought I knew already. I just finished playing through Ninja Storm Revolutions, and while I was a little disappointed that there wasn't as much backstory on rare characters as I was led to believe, I like the fighting roster, since you can play and roam around as characters never before seen in the games, such as the other Jinchuriki, Kushina, the past Kage, etc, etc. So yeah, right now the games are my muse. Shisui also appears and there's some backstroy about the events immediately leading up to the coup and you guys, it was heartbreaking! Shisui is so, so…just amazing! So yeah, pick up a copy of revolutions but definitely buy it used. I'm SO excited they're gonna do Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 and finish off the final chapters of the manga/anime! I was worried they wouldn't…**

…**Anyway…**

**You guys never cease to amaze me. The support I get is overwhelming, and even when I'm away for longer than I expect, I come and everyone is faithfully waiting on updates. I love that commitment! It's so easy to get fired up and pump out a great chapter when you have awesome readers/reviewers who genuinely want to read what you write. I can keep improving and giving it my all because of everyone's support. *sniffles* And so I humbly thank you with all my heart~ …Alright, enough mushiness from me, down to business. The general consensus from my other reviewers was that Madara is up to something (clearly) and Fugaku has a stick impaled up his ass. Both of these conclusions are foregone. ;) By which I mean, my smart reviewers, totally correct. Fugaku is that kind of dad who **_**never**_** really tells his kids "I love you" or plays ball in the yard with them…he leaves the nurturing and hands-on activities to Mikoto. He just tells them what to do and expects they do it. He's proud of their accomplishments (and **_**only**_** if they have accomplishments) but not really who they are as people. And if **_**other **_**people's kids come on his yard, he'll turn the hose on them. O.O He's a little henpecked but refuses to admit it, even to himself. He's got it in him to be a good dad though, he just doesn't know he needs to change yet. He thinks he's doing fine. Basically he embodies chauvinistic male pride. **

**As for pairings…well it's like this: sometimes, depending on what I have in mind, I encourage suggestions through a poll, other stories, the pairing is tied very closely with the plot, and so, if I did a poll and the results were not the pairing(s) I planned to use, I'd have to completely remold the plot to match, if that makes sense. For that reason, I have no plans to do a poll for the final pairing of this story at the moment. I have a good idea of where it's head, but that being said, I consider myself reasonable and still will consider any and all suggestions. In truth, I don't have a final pairing firmly cemented in my mind, just a good idea of where I want to take the romance aspect of this story when it comes in, and with who. Please make suggestions to your hearts' content though! :D I will read and take all into consideration before deciding. Oh, that being said…I am very, very reluctant to have this end up solely SasuSaku. Mainly because there is such a heavy oversaturation of that pairing in this fandom, especially because *spoiler!* it is now canon. Furthermore, I have read a handful of stories where Sakura is adopted by the Uchiha that were advertised as Uchiha harems, only for it to pretty much be determined by chapter 2 that she would get with Sasuke. And she did. Every freaking time…it wasn't even remotely suspenseful. I don't want to cheat people who are looking for a true UchihaxSaku harem out of that experience by being predictable. I also want to set this story apart from the others I have seen with vague similarities to my plot…That being said, that does not mean SasuSaku won't/can't happen at all…I can almost guarantee to some capacity it will, I just don't know if I want it to be end-game just yet. We shall see. Oh, and should Izuna become a part of this harem too? Right now, he's kind of a support character, but after the positive reactions you guys gave to his appearance, it got me thinking…He is currently 16 by the way. **

**I also got a lot of questions/comments I couldn't address via PM from some readers who are guests or have private messaging turned off, and so… *drum rolls* I'll answer the "fan mail" here. Let's see, this one comes from a reviewer in the sunny state of—ah, just kidding. XD Seriously, here are my responses:**

**Eone: I'm glad to be back too. X3 I feel the same way, but as I've gotten older, I've learned that sometimes hiatuses truly are unpredictable as life just kind of gets in the way. So I can't really say with certainty that there won't be lengthy lapses from time to time, but I do promise this story will be written to completion. Sakura's still got a few more dark mysteries hidden up her sleeve, but most of the darker content will come with future events actually. A whole lot of backstabbing, plot twists, underhanded manipulation…not revealing any more though. ;) Just imagine every juicy TV drama that's popular right now (none of which I've seen… xD) such as Scandal, Empire, Power, etc, rolled into one if that makes sense. No I'm not gonna copy plots from those shows, that's just an example of the kind of stuff you'll see that will make it "dark". No! You are definitely not the only one who doesn't like NaruHina. I find it highly overrated for so many reasons…**

**Treasure12345: *Gasps* Some one else who isn't fond of NaruHina?! My kind of people. X3 Yeah, again, I won't go into details since I'm sure even though this is a SakuUchiha story there's bound to be a handful of people who support it, but I could never get on that train, just didn't work. I see it thrown in as a side-pairing a lot with Sakura harems if Naruto's not already part of her harem, but I promise it won't happen here. Thank you for respecting that my time is limited and encouraging me to pursue this hobby of mine~ I never thought of it that way, but that is true and it makes me kind of happy to hear it.**

** : Yes, yes, who doesn't enjoy a good harem with the Uchiha boys obsessing over Sakura. xD Haha I actually found a lot of fan art with Sakura and the Uchiha boys. I wish I could have more than one image for this story. D; There were so many good ones I saw! SasuSaku is ok to me, but the strange thing is, I don't usually write/read it outside of harem fics. In other words, with the exception of one of my stories, I don't do SasuSaku unless it's written as a couple included in a harem. I don't really like it as a stand-alone. It's not bad in moderation though~And it becomes infinitely more interesting when in a harem. As for the errors you noticed, well, this is going to sound like me being lazy and not editing, but my computer went wonky at the end! I actually noticed that it kept repeating paragraphs and misspelling things, but even though I kept trying to fix it, it just kept doing it! My laptop is older (about 7yrs) and should probably be retired soon. I tried to fix as many errors I could find, manually, but I might have missed a few. Sorry!**

**Jade: Well, as well all know, Madara uses people to do his dirty work. He **_**could**_** do it himself, but what fun is it if he can't toy around with someone's head? The thing is he's so good at it, that when he does it, the person does not even know they're being worked over! Madara has a way of letting them think they're in control, when really he has calculated his move from the first pawn to the last king (chess piece references lol). So he has a grand master plan, because when doesn't he? And his recent interest in Sakura says that he feels like she could somehow fit into that. Aside from that, yes Sakura will speak, but no time soon. The timing is a key part of the plot. **

**Guest: Thank you! I felt like I had to start with a prequel to key events, because I just couldn't think of a way to jump right in to everything if they were all adults already. Ino is meant to be kind of a BAMF (which I recently learned means bad ass mother fucker…lmao) because she is Sakura's empowered female friend. So she'll teach Sakura girl power and all that jazz. I dislike NaruHina for so very many reasons…people rave about it like there was canon development of this couple throughout the series, and Naruto's feelings could've gone either way, but I reread all my manga from the time Hinata is first introduced to the lastest volume I own, and Naruto's feelings never seem to change. :/ the creator just seems to toss them together at random to me… Fugaku does learn to become a better man/father, as we'll see, and it's largely due to Sakura. ;) Madara is such an eel. It's hilarious that he grows up into this evil mastermind, but as a kid, he was a huge spazz. He couldn't even pee when he thought someone was watching him. XD I'm glad you count my story as one of those GOOD SakuxUchiha harems. I agree that true SakuxUchiha harems are hard to find, period.**

**Marie: No one "got over" the playground incident…this chapter goes into detail about what happens immediately afterwards. I can't cram everyone's reactions into one chapter otherwise there'd be nothing to write about for this one. I think I alluded that people weren't going to let it go though.**

**At first I was going to reward you guys with a small time-skip, since I know it's what everyone's probably the most anxious for…but a lot of people seemed so concerned about how Sakura was coping after her traumatic brush with her past, I thought I should address that first. The time-skip will be next chapter, I promise. **

**Sorry that was so long, but I just felt those things should be addressed before I could move on. Ok, now here we go~**

* * *

**Ch.4- **An Uchiha Festival

Making up his mind to do something was easy. Turning up clues was the hard part. Yamanaka Inoichi promised his daughter he'd try to help her new friend but he was a private investigator, and this was something more geared toward a police detective.

There hadn't been many witnesses, and the few that there were, weren't much help. Two children had seen the bullies run by, but children being children, had become distracted by a passing butterfly and decided to give chase.

The other adults in the area were slightly better, but still not entirely sure they could help him confirm the identities of the boys. One woman had left just before the incident to pick up her child from a recital. The mother of the two children that chased the butterfly was preoccupied minding her own children when they ran off, and the third was apparently head-deep into some thriller/mystery novel and only looked up when she heard the shouts and saw them fleeing.

Another woman who'd been a bit harder to track down had told him she thought they came from a group home and would see them hanging around from time to time. "Mean-spirited children," she shook her head. "Always up to no good it seems."

When he'd asked he r to elaborate, she'd leaned in with a conspiratorial glint in her eyes. "All I can say is that if those boys bullied that little girl like you said I wouldn't be surprised. I've seen them chasing after stray dogs with fire sparklers and had to intervene on more than one occasion."

Thus did Inoichi's search for three juvenile boys in the foster system that matched the physical looks of the ones he'd seen flee, begin. Not that he expected that to be much easier just because he'd managed to locate a lead. There were at least a dozen or more orphanages that he knew of in the city and surrounding suburbs.

That didn't include the homes for troubled youths. Inoichi sat back at his office desk and massaged his forehead in weary anticipation for the job ahead. One look at the small picture of his smiling daughter set up in the corner and he knew he had to at least keep trying. Sakura was obviously someone's child. Someone's defenseless child. Not all little girls were as spunky and opinionated as Ino. Adults were meant to protect children, and that's what he'd do by finding this trio.

* * *

'_Fugaku can say what he wants about getting my hopes up, but this has been good for Sakura._' Mikoto smiled as she silently watched Sakura interacting with her speech therapist. Shiranui Shizune. She was patient and always encouraged the timid girl. Even despite the regression caused by the park incident, with Shizune's lessons, Sakura was learning to sign and slowly building up her shattered self-esteem. Already, the differences she saw in Sakura were noticeable.

As she learned to sign more words, she saw her daughter practicing, clumsily at first but more assuredly with each passing day. Fugaku thought that Sakura was too damaged to ever achieve a level of normalcy needed to function independently one day, but Mikoto wasn't so sure. She was sure there was a bright, inquisitive mind lurking somewhere under all the pain. Evidenced by just how quickly Sakura was catching on to her signing.

"Now Sakura, can you sign 'boat' for me?" Shizune asked gently. Mikoto watched the little hands flickering briefly as she signed the word. The Uchiha woman smiled triumphantly, but remained watching from the doorway.

It was very important during this time that Sakura had routine. Routine equaled reassurance, according to her psychologist, Senju Tsunade. And they didn't get much more competent than the revered doctor who had won a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in internal medicine. Now she had switched to specializing in PTSD in children, luckily for the Uchiha's.

"Good," Shizune praised, "How about 'sky'?" Again Sakura's small hands moved in a short flicker.

The young woman nodded, "Alright, this one is a little trickier…I want you to sign 'family'."

Sakura paused, her hands lowering unsurely before she brought them back up and began moving through the characters with more attentiveness than before. Mikoto watched, feeling truly humbled and awed by the little girl. Shizune also seemed to be marveling as Sakura successfully completed her attempt. "You did beautifully, Sakura."

Shizune smiled, catching Mikoto's eyes. "You can come in now, Mikoto-san."

Mikoto ducked her head meekly when she realized she'd been caught, traipsing gracefully into the room and giving Sakura's shoulder a small squeeze. "Thank you so much Shizune-san…you work so well with her. After the…the incident, well my main concern was the amount of regression it could cause. I was a little worried you wouldn't have room in your schedule to work with Sakura more than you had been, but you really came through."

Shizune returned her flashcards, hand puppets and activity book back to her bag. She worked with a number of different children who had different learning styles, and always came prepared to make the sessions fun. Sakura had a special place in her heart already though. "I'm happy I was able to help." She returned politely. Shizune stood, bidding Sakura goodbye as Mikoto walked her to the door.

Sakura found that when she stood to offer the woman a shy hug, she didn't have to force herself. Shizune was genuinely nice and it wasn't as hard to trust her as it was to trust most new people. "I'd like you to keep practicing some of the signs we went over today, Sakura." The young woman instructed. "When I see you again, we'll be reviewing and I'd like to see you perfectly sign at least ten of our vocabulary words."

Sakura nodded in understanding and Shizune chuckled. They both knew Sakura was grasping the basics at a steady rate, but Shizune wanted to give her time to gain more confidence if that was what she needed.

When Mikoto came back, she found Sakura absently signing words at the kitchen table. Again she found herself watching silently. Mikoto couldn't recognize very many since she wasn't still a novice, but she was encouraged to see Sakura making an honest effort. She had the will to keep fighting to be heard. Maybe that was why when she'd first seen the girl curled into a ball at the orphanage, passively watching the others rush to greet the well-dressed visitors she had gravitated toward the pink-haired girl.

So many traumatic experiences had stolen her voice away, but Mikoto believed that with time, she could heal and blossom into the beautiful flower she was always meant to be. For now, until she was ready to reclaim her words, Mikoto wanted to give Sakura another method of communicating. Fugaku thought it didn't matter, that Sakura was too damaged to fix, but he'd see…

_Namikaze Minato waited for the sound of footsteps to fade as the kids headed upstairs before accepting the cup of tea with a grateful nod. He looked tired as he took a sip and then looked up to meet her husband's stare. "I…I don't know what to say. Apologies can't express how guilty I feel. I turned my head for a second… only a second and when I looked back, all hell had broken loose. Please, understand that I'm completely in the wrong here, but…my son really likes your daughter. And even though he constantly fights with Sasuke, I know that friendship means a lot to him as well. I'd appreciate it if you could let Naruto keep playing with your children."_

"_What are you saying, Namikaze?" Fugaku huffed. "This whole incident was caused by your negligence and frankly, I'm not sure I want my children to associate with anyone in your family."_

"_Fugaku!" Mikoto said sternly. "Give him a chance to explain."_

_Minato's head bowed and he studied the contents of his cup before taking another long gulp, swallowing harshly. "Well, from what I know, local kids who may have known Sakura from before came and started bullying her in the sandbox. They were brutal and Inoichi believes they may have even had a vendetta."_

"_Yamanaka Inoichi?" Fugaku demanded. The man was a well-respected PI for a rival firm, but even Fugaku didn't argue with his success rate._

"_Yes, he was there with his daughter. She came rushing to Sakura's defense first and was able to drive the bullies back. They ran when they saw us coming, and I only saw their backs. Three boys, wearing old looking clothes. I didn't see any adult with them, so they might have been by themselves."_

_Fugaku's jaw was tight. "You understand that the state Sakura was in before this incident was already delicate at best, she may be beyond recovering now if she ever had a chance to begin with. I hope you can understand that the therapy she'll need is not free. The ones truly responsible may be gone, but as the adult, I expect you bare some responsibility. So what can you offer besides sniveling and apologies?"_

_Minato had a resolved look in his blue eyes as he looked at his wife's close friend and her husband. "Of course we'll take on any responsibility incurred from th—"_

"_You'll do no such thing." Mikoto said quietly._

_Minato looked at her in surprise and Fugaku gave his wife a hard stare. "Mikoto,"_

"_Fugaku, you said yourself Minato-san isn't to blame, and we have more than enough to cover Sakura's therapy expenses, however much they may be. My only concern is how this sets her back mentally and emotionally. She seemed to be starting to trust us, but now…I'm not sure how much this will affect her. But what I do know is Sakura needs the support and interaction of children her own age, who can accept her as she is now. If Naruto can be a friend to her, I'd very much like for them to continue to play. You could have never expected that what happened today would happen," she assured the blonde man, "And we'll handle finding the ones responsible."_

_It was Mikoto's turn to send her husband a firm look, and he grunted as if in reluctant acceptance._

_Minato floundered for words to express his gratitude at the Uchiha matriarch's graciousness. She was far more reasonable a woman than he would have guessed. A perfect balance to his own wife's wild temper. Kushina would be on the war path if anyone threatened her child, or so much as uttered an unkind word in Naruto's direction. As it was, she'd probably scold him thoroughly when he got home once he explained what had happened. _

"_Thank you, Mikoto-san, Fugaku-san…for Naruto's sake, I'm very glad to hear it. And I promise that however I can be of assistance in finding those boys, I will be."_

"_We appreciate everything you did for Sakura, today." Mikoto bowed respectfully. "Remember, the blame for what happened doesn't lie with you. Only those horrible children. And Fugaku _will _find them." All the warmth and sympathy left Mikoto's eyes then, and Minato knew she wouldn't rest until those boys had been hunted down and dealt with to her satisfaction._

_Minato offered the Uchiha police captain a small smile that wasn't returned. "I'll get Naruto; Kushina will be expecting us home soon."_

_As he slowly began to climb the stairs, Fugaku turned away from his wife with a dismissive huff, displeased he hadn't been able to control the situation the way he'd wanted to._

"_You've invested far too much in that child, Mikoto. You'll be disappointed when you find that any healing that can be done for her has its limits."_

_Mikoto held her chin up defiantly. "A mother's job is to believe in her children Fugaku, even if all the odds are against them. I know I pushed adoption on you, and that Sakura isn't the kind of little girl you would have chosen, but she's _ours_ now. I want her to look to us for safety and reassurance the same way our sons do."_

_Mikoto began ascending the stairs, knowing Minato may not be able to find the right room to collect his son. _

"_I didn't ask for a daughter." Fugaku mumbled as he stormed back to his home office._

_Mikoto gave him a sharp glance from over her shoulder. "Yet you have one now. So start acting like it."_

If only Fugaku could see the same brilliance in Sakura that she did. If only he realized that she wasn't a lost cause; Mikoto couldn't think of a better cause to fight for than the precious one sitting in front of her.

Sakura was now idly making shapes in the air, not signing but letting her little finger take whatever path it chose.

"Sakura-chan," she called softly. Sakura's head jerked but she calmed down when she realized it was only Mikoto. "It's almost time to pick up your brothers; would you like a snack before we go?"

Mikoto already had a good idea what the answer would be, but she waited for the hesitant nod before walking to the refrigerator and opening it with a sigh. "Now let's see…what do we have here? Hm…it looks like most of my fresh-picked tomatoes have mysteriously vanished," she chuckled. It didn't take much to guess the culprit. '_At least I never have to nag him about eating his veggies._' "So that means I can't make tomato risotto tonight like I'd planned…darn, and I really wanted to work on my Western cuisine. Oh well, it may not be as exciting but Japanese dishes are tried and true, aren't they?" Mikoto blushed lightly, realizing she was rambling out loud. Kushina's influence no doubt.

She turned to see Sakura watching her curiously, eyes glued to her. "Oopsie, kaa-chan was thinking out loud. But you're such a sweet girl to listen to me anyway," she smiled. "Now, I believe I promised you a snack…how about some onigiri? They're fast and simple."

Luckily, Sakura wasn't picky, so Mikoto knew that she'd eat just about anything put in front of her, with encouragement. As they waited on the rice she loaded into the rice cooker, she watched Sakura watch her.

"Hm? You really are a keen little girl." Inwardly Mikoto was crowing. '_Just like a true Uchiha to always be aware of her surroundings._'

It was quiet as Mikoto waited for her daughter to finish her snack, making sure she'd had at least one full rice ball and wiping the grains from her face before loading her into the family SUV.

Mikoto glanced at her daughter in the rearview mirror occasionally as she made the journey across town to Senju Gakuen. She waited patiently in the carpool line as students spilled out through the rot-iron gates of the inner courtyard, laughing, arguing, and chasing each other. She spotted her two boys and waved cheerfully. A laugh bubbled out of her as she saw the girl clinging to her younger son.

Sakura watched, somewhat surprised to see Sasuke trudging toward them with Ino latched onto his arm, gushing adoringly.

Sasuke's displeased rant drifted to them from Mikoto's open window. "Ino, let go of my arm! I have to go home!"

"Bye Sasuke-kun, see you tomorrow~!" Try as he might to squirm away, Sasuke couldn't avoid the kiss Ino placed on his cheek before skipping off to wait for her ride with the other unclaimed kids.

Sasuke scrubbed furiously at his pale cheek as he stomped to his side of the car and slammed the door. Itachi nodded at his friends and calmly climbed into the front seat.

"Ugh! Why won't she leave me alone?" Sasuke complained as they pulled away, barely noticing Sakura in his frustration. She smiled meekly, unsure if now would be a good time to seek his attention.

"Oh, hi Sakura." he sighed.

"Hello Sakura," Itachi greeted.

Sakura gave them her best happy smile, only straining the slightest bit. It was getting easier not to fake her emotions around the Uchiha's.

"So Sasuke, will I be marrying you off before Itachi?" Mikoto teased.

"Stop it, kaa-san! I don't like Ino; she just follows me around all the time."

"Well be nice, dear."

"Hmph!"

"Itachi, how was your day?"

"…Uneventful." he shrugged. "My Calculus teacher quit suddenly, so I taught the class."

"O-oh, that's strange. Wasn't that the second teacher you've had quit this year?"

"It was the third." he corrected. "They all quit sooner or later. My classmates see to that."

"I have a good mind to speak to that headmaster of yours. Even if you're in the advanced program, what good does it do if your classmates are so unruly they're constantly chasing away all the teachers?"

"Father pushed for me to be in the honor classes." Sakura got the feeling her brother wasn't exactly pleased about it. Sasuke had once told her that Itachi had less time to spend with him because of all the homework he got.

Mikoto sighed. "That he did…you were being considered for it because of your grades, anyway, but with how impatient Fugaku was in having you take the qualifying exam a year early and expedited the process, I doubt they'll let you back out easily. So just do your best and let's at least hope those troublemakers transfer."

Dinner at the Uchiha residence was far from easygoing. Mikoto watched everyone eat their okinomiyaki wordlessly. She and Fugaku hadn't really been lovey-dovey since their spat over Sakura, but she knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. And she didn't regret putting her foot down. She always had the last word when it came to her children and Fugaku would have to learn to accept it.

She wasn't worried about it creating some kind of irreversible damage in their relationship. She had learned long ago that Fugaku was hardly ever an agreeable man, and had married him knowing it'd take a good deal of work and patience. She loved him, the insufferable ass that he normally was.

Like clockwork, Fugaku sighed, stirred the contents of his meal around a few times, and then pushed his plate back altogether. "The station is hosting yet another ludicrous event in the name of creating a more relaxing work environment."

"Oh?" Mikoto didn't have to feign interest as she chewed on a sautéed mushroom from her plate.

"…It's," he closed his eyes with a long-suffering sigh, "An appreciation festival to celebrate the officers and staff. Everyone is going to bring their families, and a few other important sponsors are being invited. I suspect Namikaze and his spawn will be there, as well as his wife…that loquacious redheaded woman."

Mikoto gave her husband a firm look that clearly said "Play nice or else."

"At any rate, as the chief, I'm expected to make an appearance."

Mikoto nodded calmly. "We all will. This is a family gathering after all."

Fugaku scoffed around a mouthful of beef.

* * *

Sakura was…in awe. Every time she thought she had gotten used to the lavish life the Uchiha's had given her she was thrown for another wonderful loop. But this time, the excitement of the experience lay within the fact that it was a common enough one for a Japanese child to have, but this would be her first one. A real festival.

Complete with game stands, a parade, even getting to dress up in nice kimonos. Of course Mikoto had left her bangs untouched, but had done what she could to pin Sakura's short locks into a cute bun, even placing a decorative silver comb into her hair. They were a very well-groomed family waiting to enjoy the festival with their fine silk kimonos, the family crest proudly inscribed on everyone's clothes somewhere. Even Sakura had a small Uchiha fan on her kimono's collar. Her custom tailored kimono—red with white lotus blossoms patterning the fabric.

Itachi and Sasuke wore more subdued colors of black and navy respectively, both with the Uchiha fan proudly standing out in the back. Since their kimonos didn't have patterns the crest drew most of the attention.

Everywhere she looked, Sakura saw red and white fans on well-postured backs. The Uchiha clan in its entirety (as she guessed it was by the sheer volume) was a sight to behold. She had realized before, but there had to be over a hundred people there, all of them pale-skinned and dark-haired. All but her, who stood out like an miserably with bright pink locks. Her shoulders slumped in resignation that she would never fully fit into this family.

That was, until the sudden voice that broke her out of her sulking. "Yo!" Sakura turned, gasping when she saw the familiar faces coming their way.

"Shisui!" Sasuke greeted, running to meet their cousin halfway. He quickly got a hug from Yuu and a kind pat on the head from Kagami.

"'Sup squirt!" Bristling, Sasuke quickly backed away from his cousin with a scowl.

"This is why big brother's better. He doesn't pick on me."

Shisui faked a hurt look. "Aw don't be like that. Hey Itachi, lookin' good." Itachi gave his best friend one of his rare smiles.

"Nice to see you again Shisui."

"Hello Mikoto, Fugaku." Yuu quickly kissed the other woman's cheek before doing the same to Fugaku. Kagami gave Mikoto a warm hug and Fugaku a respectful nod, clapping his back good-naturedly.

Just as Sakura thought she'd been forgotten, everyone's attention was drawn to her. "Oh Sakura-chan! It's only been a few weeks but I've missed you!" Yuu gushed, hugging her.

"Sakura-chan!" Shisui grinned. "Just like I suspected; you're really cute all dressed up. Well, cuter than normal."

Sakura blushed the same shade as her hair and everyone laughed. "I agree Mikoto! You did a wonderful job dolling up Sakura-chan. Oh, you're making me want a little girl of my own to spoil." Yuu turned to her husband with pleading eyes, "Kagami-kun, do you think we could—"

"Yuu. Shisui is plenty." he sighed, shaking his head.

"Pops is right, Ma. What are the odds that lightning would strike twice, ya know?" Shisui turned to Sakura with a wink. "Why mess with perfection?"

Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes and Sasuke scoffed.

Yuu pointedly ignored her son as she stroked Sakura's hair. "Oh well, I have you as a niece now, Sakura-chan, so I'll just have to put my efforts into spoiling you. Shisui's long outgrown the phase where I can pretend he's a girl and make him wear whatever I want anyway."

"Ouch Mom, I can still hear you, you know…" Shisui deflated.

" But now that we're all here, why don't we go through the festival together?" Mikoto clapped, leaning on Fugaku's arm like a smitten school girl. Even her grumpy husband had to loosen up on a night like this, right?

"Mikoto…"

"Aw, aren't we old enough to walk around a festival by ourselves yet?" Sasuke frowned, throws his arms up.

"You're six." Mikoto frowned. "And you could get lost."

"B-But I'll be seven soon! A-Anyway, Shisui and big brother can come with us, right?!" Sasuke looked up at the two older boys with pleading eyes.

Shisui pointed at himself incredulously. "How'd I get dragged into this? Geez, you're always so pushy…"

Sasuke's face turned up in a scowl as he put his hands on his hips. "Hey! Come on…if you don't, I'll tell everybody about that thing you didn't want anybody to know I fo—"

Shisui quickly clamped a hand over Sasuke's mouth, chuckling nervously. "Well, I don't mind if you don't…right, Itachi?"

Itachi shot him an amused look before shrugging.

Yuu smiled, "Have fun and look out for the younger ones, but remember to meet us back here in two hours."

Sasuke cheered, getting ready to dart off when Itachi swiftly grabbed his arm.

"But…!" Mikoto began to protest.

"Mikoto, it's fine. Shisui and Itachi have their phones. And this is being hosted and run by Uchiha, so it's unlikely they'll meet a stranger." Fugaku answered coolly.

"That's right. I'm sure the boys will be fine looking after the little ones." Kagami agreed. "Think of this as a test of responsibility for them. We'll have to start putting faith in them eventually. They'll be in charge of our future someday."

Mikoto sulked, still unhappy, but bowed her head in acquiesce. Yuu patted her arm comfortingly.

Sasuke beamed, hugged his mother, and pointing in the direction of the game booths. "Let's go!"

Itachi gave his mother a nod of reassurance and Shisui saluted as they both easily caught up to Sasuke, Sakura hot on their heels.

She was slightly nervous being in surrounded by so many people, b'ut by now she had enough trust in Shisui and Itachi that she knew no harm would come to her when they were around. Besides, it wasn't like she wasn't curious. There was a whole festival to explore!

"So, what are we gonna do first?" Sasuke asked, eyes sparkling in excitement. "Should we have snacks, or buy masks? Oh, or maybe we could try to catch some goldfi—"

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, is that you?!" a girlish voice yelled. The Uchiha boys and Sakura turned to see a blond girl waving, towing a man behind her as she eagerly dashed their way. Sakura gaped. It…it was her! The girl from the park! A timid smile worked its way across her face, pleasantly surprised to see her rescuer again.

"Or we could hide." Sasuke groaned. "What's _Ino_ doing here?"

"Father likely invited Yamanaka-san as a show of good will." Itachi chuckled lightly. "The Yamanaka have produced a long line of brilliant detectives. The firm Inoichi-san works for has recently partnered with the Uchiha Group on several high-profile cases."

Shisui chuckled as Inoichi and his daughter stopped in front of them and Ino flung herself at Sasuke, giving him a tight squeeze around the neck. "It _is_ you!" she sighed happily.

"Ino," Sasuke pushed her back by the shoulders. "Stop clinging."

"Aw," Ino pouted. "Why do you always have to be like this, Sasuke-kun? I was so happy when Daddy said your family invited us to their festival. I even got this special kimono, see?" Sakura smiled lightly as Ino twirled so they could see her purple kimono, covered with pink roses and tied with a lavender obi.

Shisui leaned down, whispering in Sasuke's ear. "Sasuke, you'll never stay popular being mean to all the girls. Why don't you tell Ino-chan she's cute?"

Sasuke glared at his cousin from over his shoulder. "Because kaa-san said lying is wrong."

Ino studied the Uchiha's curiously. She had seen Sasuke's older brother before, but not the other boy, and—she gasped when she noticed the bright pink head peeking out from behind Itachi, rushing over.

"Sakura-chan?!" Sakura almost stumbled as Ino suddenly hugged her. "Wow, I didn't think I'd see you here. Did your family get invited too?" the blonde let go, looking around as if she would spot people she could peg as Sakura's family.

"She came with us." Shisui smiled.

Ino tilted her head back to look at the older boy. "Eh?" Looking back at the timid girl in surprise. "How do you know Sasuke-kun's family?"

"Ino, remember what we talked about…it's not right to be nosey."

"But tou-san…I'm just curious 'cause Sakura-chan doesn't go to our school."

"Sakura's my sister, Ino." Sasuke grumbled.

Ino stared between Sakura and the three Uchiha, trying to process this new bit of information. "Whaaat? S-She's…but you guys…look nothing alike!" she exclaimed, pointing.

"Ino, don't point; it's impolite." Her father scolded lightly, pushing her finger down.

"She's adopted." Itachi clarified.

Ino shook her head clear. "W-wow! Sasuke-kun's sister." Suddenly, she clasped both of Sakura's hands, leaning in close until their noses almost touched. Sakura blushed lightly. "I knew it was a good idea for us to be friends! We can talk all about Sasuke-kun."

Shisui rubbed his neck sheepishly. "About that…talks with Sakura-chan on the matter of love, or anything, may be kind of one-sided."

"Why's that?" Ino asked. "Wait, come to think of it, I didn't hear you say anything last time we met either."

"That's because she can't talk." Sasuke huffed. "So don't be pushy."

Ino pouted at Sasuke's implications. But quickly turned to Sakura. Suddenly the pinkette was self-conscious. Maybe Ino didn't like her now. The weird girl who never spoke. It pretty much made her a bigger target than she already would've been at the orphanage.

"So…you really can't talk at all, huh?"

Inoichi put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Ino…"

"Hm…that just means you'll be a late bloomer though, right?" Everyone was surprised at Ino's large grin. Sakura most of all. "I bet one day, you'll bloom into the prettiest blossom of all, Sakura!"

Inoichi smiled in pride at his daughter.

" 'Til then, you just need to have more confidence!" the blonde continued, "SZtarting now. Let's go have some fun." She quickly linked arms with Sakura to drag her out from behind Itachi, before doing the same with a scowling Sasuke.

"Ino, where are you going?" Inoichi asked.

"To walk around the festival with Sakura and Sasuke-kun." she replied. Inoichi looked hesitant to let his daughter go off on her own, but Shisui quickly allieviated those fears with a warm smile.

"No worries, sir. We're already looking out for Sasuke and Sakura. Watching Ino-chan too shouldn't be too hard."

Inoichi sighed, seeing his daughter was going to get her way, yet again. At least these boys seemed responsible. "Are you sure? My daughter can be quite the handful."

"The more the merrier, right Itachi?" Shisui playfully nudged his cousin in the side.

Itachi watched as Ino dragged his siblings to a stand selling takoyaki. "She seems to be full of spirit. I think a friend like Ino would be good for Sakura." he said.

"Well if you're sure you don't mind…" Inoichi relented. "Please just try to have her back in two hours. I'll meet you in this area."

Itachi bowed to the blonde man respectfully, walking to catch up to the younger children. Shisui followed just as the woman running the stall was gushing over how sweet they were and hnding them an extra stick. "Thank you, auntie." Sasuke smiled, accepting both sticks. He passed one off to Ino absently and then turned to Sakura. "We'll share ok?" Sakura, being somewhat of a mousy eater, had no qualms with this.

The blonde blinked, frowning as she stared down at the skewered meat. "Aw but Sasuke-kun, I thought _we_ could share."

Sasuke shrugged. "It's okay Ino; you can have that one to yourself. Sakura doesn't eat much anyway, so I'll split with her."

Ino glowered at the dark-haired boy, shoving a takoyaki into her mouth moodily. Sasuke calmly took one from his stick, blew it off and gave it to Sakura before eating one himself. He was either oblivious to Ino's irritation or didn't really care. Shisui would bet on the latter.

"Man, you'd think he'd get even a touch of the Uchiha charm. But your little bro's doomed to be lonely forever if he keeps that up." Shisui sighed.

Itachi tilted his head, watching Sakura nibble on the takoyaki. "Sasuke isn't a born ladies' man like you. He hasn't noticed girls at all yet."

Shisui eyed his cousin skeptically. "Wonder where he gets _that_ from. You know, you've got a lot of girls looking at you too Itachi. Yet you give each and every one of them the cold shoulder. Just those empty, polite gestures. It's cruel, man, being nice to them out of obligation and letting them think there's hope is worse than cutting them off at the knees."

"I don't want any romantic advice from you." Itachi replied dismissively.

"Suit yourself." Shisui scoffed. "I'm just saying that—"

"Naruto, don't run with that mask on!"

The group looked up, Sasuke tensing up and the girls watching curiously at the shout. What were the odds?

A small blur of orange tore down the street, knocking into people as he went.

Apparently, very good.

Sakura watched a very familiar blond man chasing after him, apologizing to anyone his son might've offended. "Oh, e-excuse me, please."

"Naruto!" Sakura winced at the shrill scream of a red-haired woman who was stomping after the small blonde. People were actually clearing out of her way. There was…a very scary aura surrounding her, all aimed at Naruto.

Shisui chuckled. "Uh-oh, that's Kushina-san's Red Hot Habanero face."

Sakura scooted further behind Ino and Sasuke, cowering. "Hmph! Serves him right." Ino scoffed, arms folded.

Sasuke must have felt Sakura's fear, because he turned to give her a small grin. "Naruto's mom always gets like this when he does something stupid." Sakura wondered if that was supposed to make her relax.

She watched as the woman finally caught her son by the back of his collar, ripped the mask off and tossed it at Minato before laying into Naruto with a brutal tongue-lashing about being reckless. Minato watched quietly, scared to intervene on his son's behalf.

'_Sorry Naruto, but even as your father, all I can offer you is my silent sympathy.'_

The blonde wilted, "Sorry kaa-chan…I was just so excited."

The redheaded woman sighed, seeming to calm down as her eyes softened. "I know. You get it from me, like every other part of your personality, so I guess I shouldn't scold you_ too_ much. Just be more careful next time. You could've hurt someone, or yourself, ya know?"

Shisui gave a low whistle as they watched Kushina pat her son on the head with a gentle grin. "Scary, huh?"

Sasuke and Ino nodded in agreement. Itachi smiled down at Sakura. "Would you like to go and say hello?" She met Itachi's eyes, surprised he would allow her the choice. The last time she had seen Naruto, things had been…

"Eh? No way, is that you Sakura-chan?!" Sakura barely had time to react when the same whiskered blonde she'd just been thinking of came barreling into her, arms wrapped around her in a tight squeeze.

His parents followed more calmly, Minato chuckling at his son's enthusiasm. "Well, we meet again Sakura-chan, Sasuke. Hello, Ino." Sakura smiled back shyly, happy to see them again even if she didn't show it as boldly.

"Eh? Who's this?" the red-haired woman looked at the girl Naruto was bear hugging. Squinting at the top of her hair. Pink. Hmm… "No, don't tell me this is _the _Sakura-chan Naruto wouldn't stop going on about?"

Minato nodded. "The very same."

Sakura almost squealed when the woman picked her up in a hug just as fierce as Naruto's. "Ooh, it's so nice to meet you, Sakura-chan!" she gently put her back down, smiling kindly. "I've heard so much about you from Mikoto, and now Naruto, I was wondering when I'd meet you. I'm Kushina, Naruto's mom. Thank you so much for being my little knucklehead's friend. I hope he wasn't too much trouble. Oh, am I talking too fast for you? Sorry, I do that when I'm excited. I hope you don't think I'm totally nuts." Kushina laughed nervously, and Sakura couldn't believe the complete change from the woman she had just seen on the warpath to the talkative lady in front of her.

By this time the other kids had wondered over, and Kushina turned to greet them as well. "Oh, hello Itachi. It's been a while hasn't it. And Sasuke, are you taller?"

Sasuke's face scrunched. "Not any taller than I was two days ago. Naruto's just short." Itachi elbowed him, but Kushina laughed it off.

"Haha! Well, I keep telling him to eat his vegetables if he wants to grow, but nothing gets through that thick-head."

"Hey, kaa-chan…" Naruto whined.

Kushina ignored her son and continued speaking. "Oh, and Ino, you're here too? That's a very pretty yukata." Ino giggled, looking proud at the compliment.

Kushina cocked her head as she studied the last boy. Mussy dark hair and long eyelashes, along with those features that just screamed Uchiha. "Hm…Shisui, right?"

"We have a winner." he nodded. "It's good to see you again, Kushina-san."

Kushina beamed. "Same here. It's so nice of Mikoto and Fugaku to have invitied us, isn't it, Minato?" she linked arms with her husband, laying her head on his shoulder.

Minato managed a half smile, still thinking of the glare Fugaku had given him the last time he'd seen the man. "Y-yes."

"I'm especially glad I got to meet my son's first crush." Kushina leaned down until she was eye level with Sakura. The girl blushed to her roots. "I have to say Naruto has better tastes than I could've hoped for. He actually found a girl with hair as unique as his mom's!"

"Kaa-chan!" Naruto began tugging on Kushina's yukata sleeve, his cheeks bright red.

"Oh sorry, sorry! I'm doing it again." She apologized half-heartedly. "You probably want to go off and have fun with your friends now, right?"

Naruto looked up eagerly, nodding.

"Yosh! That'd be so—"

"Hold on!" Kushina's hand came up to silence him. "I have a few conditions. Stay with the group. Do not cause any more trouble—I_ know_ you, Naruto. There's nothing you can hide from the woman who gave birth to you, and remember nowhere will be safe if I hear you were bad. Check back with us in an hour. Listen to Itachi and Shisui, understand?"

Naruto nodded obediently. "Y-Yes…" It was honestly all he could do not to tear off down the street with Sakura. He was so excited he got to spend time with her…she was so cute, standing there in her yukata...he never thought he'd notice girls. He'd thought they were all bossy and loud, like Ino. But Sakura was really special. It was kind of annoying Sasuke was with her (not to mention Ino), but he guessed he'd let it slide since she was his sister and all.

"I leave him in your capable hands, Itachi. Please feel free to smack him as you see fit if he misbehaves." Kushina gave the boy a sweet smile, and he nodded dutifully, gathering the children and herding them in the direction of some of the game booths.

Somehow, he'd ended up with quite the herd. "All aboard Itachi's baby-sitting service." Shisui cackled as they led the troop of kids through the stalls.

"Oddly, you're the biggest one I have to look out for." Itachi smirked. Shisui instantly deflated.

Minato and Kushina watched Naruto chatting away to Sakura, Ino and Sasuke looking annoyed that he was taking all of her attention. "I'm so happy Naruto is finally fitting in."

Minato squeezed his wife's hand. She looked on the verge of tears. "I was worried."

"I know." He gave her the bright grin she'd come to love. "But I have a feeling that as long as he has friends like that, we have nothing to worry about."

Kushina brightened, "Sakura is so adorable! Shy, but adorable. Can she really not—"

Minato shook his head sadly.

Kushina's shoulders slumped, but a smile wormed its away across her lips. "Funny. Our loudmouth would pick someone like her to latch onto."

"I think they complement each other well." Minato replied.

Kushina grabbed his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "I agree. Kinda like us,"

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter feels lacking in places…honestly I was just anxious to get it out and I was running out of steam and felt like it was starting to drag so I had to end it somewhere because this chapter was already over 18 pages on word and I have a lot of things planned for Sakura and co next chapter~ (Yes, Naruto has a crush on Sakura at this point—a typical puppy crush—yes, Minato and Kushina seem to be rooting for them, but right now they're mostly just glad Naruto has friends and commenting on their predicitions for the future. They can tell Sakura will be a special lifelong friend for Naruto and vice-versa. Yes, Kushina is happy he has a crush, but mainly they see them as being a good match as friends. I wanted to include the NaruSaku dynamic in some way, but this **_**still **_**isn't NaruSaku).**

**Okay. I feel like I laid the groundwork and am now comfortable with a gradual time skip happening next chapter~ Yay! But it'll only be a few months most likely. Ah well. It'll gradually increase after the major events of Part II happen and then we will see everyone aging by a few years at a time between chapters until Part II starts. I initially thought I'd start part two exactly ten years after Sakura comes into the Uchiha's lives, but I've been thinking and may make her 17 instead. 15 is still kinda young for the smutty stuff that will eventually go down in Part II and I'm a little bit old-fashioned so, eh. 17 is only two years but that can make a huge difference. I'm sooo excited to write Sakura &amp; the boys as older versions of themselves. Heh heh~ **

**Oh, and yes, yes I did hint that Shizune is married to Genma Shiranui. She needed a last name and I don't know why but I always shipped them. They're a young couple who were high school sweethearts. ^.^**

**P.S. I kind of hinted at it, but yeah, if you've guessed who Itachi's troublemaking yet gifted classmates are, you've probably guessed right. And Senju Gakuen goes from elementary to high school (as far as I know :P) but Itachi and Sasuke have classes in different buildings. Because the school is broken up like that. It's really more of a large campus. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I just want you guys to know that you win my heart every time. Hands down. Couldn't ask for better reviewers. No matter if I'm down, I can always count on you all to lift me up. You're really much too kind to me. ^/^ Even as I struggle to look for my muse I will keep working as hard as possible on this story and I hope we can continue to follow Sakura's journey together~ Honestly, there's more I could say to sing your praises but words just cannot express it. I LOVE how many lengthy reviews I got (detailed reviews are always, always the best to me; it's like getting fan mail!) Even people who told me that English is not their native language but they enjoyed the story so much they just had to review. :D I don't care if it's not "perfect" English, because it's perfect to me. You meet me halfway by showing support, and that is what matters most, not how good or bad your spelling or grammar may be. So thank you so much to all my international reviewers. I can't believe I've gotten such a diverse fan base. **

**More beloved characters appearing in this chapter. All Uchiha, all the time~ Along with some other familiar non-Uchiha faces. Some of you even accurately guessed the appearance of another character who will play an important part of the story without me saying anything about it. Good guessing skills! More of Sakura's brilliance coming through in this chapter. Happy reading all.**

***Small side note to my one guest reviewer who I wanted to answer since you asked me some direct things***

**Sa: Wow, I honestly never thought about if anyone who had personal experience with that would review. I'm glad you like the story so far, and I will keep your advice in mind. In regards to how the characters seem to instinctively know that she is mute, well I will try to make that clearer. But they aren't reading minds or anything. And I didn't mean to imply that you can tell someone is impaired in some way at a glance. You really can't most of the time. It's just that everyone is talking about this little mute girl the Uchiha's took in and word spreads fast. If/when the kids say she "can't talk" it's more likely that they think she is too shy to do so. You know how kid logic works. They are good at interpreting abstract situations but coming up with fairly simple/logical (to them) explanations. These kids are also more understanding than most, which is intentional. Most people Sakura encounters outside her close circle won't be. I also will be mindful of not having characters enable Sakura as she gets older, as you mentioned, though I never planned to from the start. I think she'll grow more proactive with time as she comes into her own, and with encouragement from her support system. I also think certain characters are in place specifically not to pull any punches and give tough love when needed. Right now, she's a little girl so they're trying to take it easy on her, but… You will see what I mean later on. Hope this cleared things up a little!**

* * *

**Ch. 5**-Staggered

"Pretty weird how we all found each other here, huh?" Kushina grinned, eyes glancing around at the other adults. They all sat under a navy awning at a long wooden bench. "I mean it's a big festival, ya know? And yet here we are."

The Uchiha women returned her excitement with warm smiles, but the men sitting at the long wooden bench were more subdued. With the exception of Minato, who fidgeted slightly.

He hadn't really left the Uchiha household on the best of terms with Fugaku and the man was giving him a blank stare. Though after being on the receiving end of one of the Uchiha's cold glares, the blonde decided he preferred the impassive face as an alternative.

Inoichi's stern face softened as he cleared his throat, addressing Mikoto and Fugaku. "Yes. It was a shock to find out Ino's new friend is your daughter. Has she been with you long?"

"Over a month now," Mikoto beamed. "Isn't she the sweetest?"

"We were just saying how we hoped Naruto and Sakura could be friends for a very _long_ time." Kushina said happily, "Right, Minato?" Minato squeezed his wife's hand gently as it found his, nodding.

"Yes. Naruto is…a handful. He takes after his mother that way." Kushina huffed, pretending to be offended. "Sometimes he gets into trouble, speaks before he thinks, and others may get worn out by how much energy he has. But he adores his friends and has a kind heart. We'd be happy if Sakura and Sasuke continue to stay by his side."

Mikoto smiled understandingly. "I feel the same way about them playing with Naruto. Sasuke is a very precocious little boy. Of course we're proud. But…sometimes that goes to his head and he needs to be taken down a notch. Naruto seems to keep him on his toes. I think a healthy rivalry is good for growing boys. And Sakura…well, you may have noticed she's been through a lot. Even we're not sure how much…such a sunny, accepting friend might help ease her out of her shell. And having a friend like Ino in her corner who's already so confident and sure of who she is, might give Sakura the strength she needs to blossom one day."

Inoichi chuckled. "A fitting analogy. Ino's got her mother's green thumb. She definitely speaks the language of the flowers. She's already really taken a shine to Sakura, so she's in good hands. Actually, that's part of what I wanted to talk to you about…" he added, his face sobering up.

"About Sakura?" Fugaku grunted. "What about?"

"I didn't know she was yours…so tracking down any leads on finding those boys…assuming they knew her from her last orphanage, wasn't turning up much. I've been trying to find out who was responsible, and it may help if I knew the name of the place you adopted Sakura from."

Mikoto traded a look with Fugaku. Mikoto silently wondered why her husband, the self-proclaimed brilliant police chief hadn't thought of something so simple to begin with. Fugaku had the grace to duck his head to hide his discreetly embarrassed face.

"A good idea," Kagami nodded in agreement. "If you're lucky, those boys are still living there, or the general area.

"It was a smaller orphanage on the west side of the city. Hibiki Institute." Fugaku said.

Inoichi's head bobbed as he pulled out a small pad and pen and hastily scrawled the name down. "Do you remember who you talked to?"

"We only met the curator once, before the adoption was finalized actually." Mikoto admitted, her brows furrowed in deep thought. "We dealt mostly with a woman named Kanna…she was the one that walked us through the process, and told us about all the children." A small smile lifted Mikoto's lips as she remembered. "She tried to push us towards other children. She didn't seem sure we knew what we were getting into when I told her I wanted to know more about Sakura, but I insisted." She gave her husband a pointed look, continuing, "I don't regret following my instincts."

Kagami nodded sagely. "I think you were right to do so, Mikoto."

"And this information will make it much easier to find those boys. I'll let you know as soon as I've got something." Inoichi assured, smiling gently.

"Can't you get a new law passed about nasty brats like that having some kind of corporeal punishment, Minato?" Kushina said, her eyes gleaming passionately, as was her nature. "There's a meeting coming up isn't there?"

Minato chuckled nervously as he patted his wife's clenched hand. "The Diet doesn't exactly work like that, Kushina."

"Well it should," she huffed. "Little punks…they'll get what's comin' to 'em." The other adults looked on warily as the redheaded woman's mouth twisted into a chilling smirk. Minato suddenly remembered Kushina's Red Hot Habanero days with perfect clarity. The wild delinquent who had become his wife, just as fiery and compassionate as the day they'd met.

He smoothed a thumb over her fist until he felt the tension leaving her and heard the long sigh. "Sorry, it just burns me up, ya know?" she looked sheepishly at the other adults, but Yuu and Mikoto gave her looks of understanding. Neither knew the full story of Kushina's past, but they were keen enough to have their suspicions. Especially Mikoto, who had gotten more out of Kushina than most did, in the years they'd known each other.

"I think this hits close to home for all of us." Kagami offered sympathetically. "We're all parents. The idea that children could go that far is horrifying and disturbing. I'm sure Yamanaka-san will get to the bottom of it soon."

Fugaku, though silent, glanced at the blonde man, who had a determined set to his jaw. In truth, the Uchiha patriarch wasn't sure what to make of Sakura, or the changes she had brought with her. He had a stable life. A life he could be proud of.

Then a pink-haired little girl had been dragged into his home and started to systemically dismantle the natural order of everything as he knew it with her mere presence. He couldn't tell if it was himself or her that was to fault anymore. It was easy to blame Sakura, the proverbial monkey wrench in his life. But he was an adult. A child shouldn't have him so unnerved. Maybe it was his inability to take control as of late that frustrated him, not so much Sakura. Maybe he was wrong to hastily reject the girl…but he hadn't had much say when Mikoto had started down the path of wanting to adopt. Residual feelings of bitterness were to be expected, in his opinion.

But seeing everyone rallying around helping her made_ him_ feel like he was definitely the one being difficult. Not that he would ever admit that readily to his wife, or anyone.

"I'll do everything in my power." Inoichi vowed grimly. He remembered how shaken he was the day he had first met Sakura and seen the tell-tale evidence of trauma. The look he'd caught in those watery green eyes haunted him. Making the streets safer not only for Sakura, but all children, was driving motivation for his volunteering his time.

* * *

"So kiddies, where to next?" Shisui asked, slightly swinging arms with Sakura. Figuring she might be overwhelmed around so many unfamiliar sights and people, he had offered to hold her hand. He was a little amused when Ino had protested about him "hogging Sakura" and decided to hold her other hand.

"Is this your first time at a festival, Sakura?" Ino asked, ignoring Shisui, much to the teenager's amusement. It was almost like the blonde saw him as some sort of rival for Sakura.

Sakura nodded, causing Naruto to choke on the fairy floss he had been busy stuffing into his mouth. "Really?! We gotta do everything and show Sakura-chan all the fun stuff!" he yelled eagerly.

Sasuke made a face of annoyance. He hadn't counted on running into two of his loudest, most excitable classmates, or that they would end up tagging along, but as much as they drove him crazy, no one else seemed to mind. "I thought that's what we were already _doing_." The young Uchiha snipped.

"Eating takoyaki isn't the funnest part of festivals! You gotta play games like…that one!" Everyone followed the direction Naruto pointed to see a booth set up where two children tried to catch goldfish with paper nets.

And without waiting for anyone, he was off. The others followed, keeping sight of the bright yellow hair that stood out in stark contrast to the sea of dark heads, even in the limited light from the paper lanterns strung through the streets.

"I wanna try it, mister!" Naruto chirped, holding out his hand for a net. The man running the booth, with gray just beginning to touch his temples, stared Naruto down for a long minute, taking in his bright smile and whiskered face.

"Do you?" he asked, leaning forward. "Certainly got a lot of energy, don't cha?" He dropped one of the small nets into the eager boy's waiting hands.

By now, the rest of the group had caught up, slowly coming to stand in a half circle around the blond boy. That was when one of the kneeling children who had been quietly fishing looked up. "Do you mind? It's hard to concentrate." huffed the boy in his immaculate white yukata.

Shisui peered down at the boy's pale eyes in interest. "Hey, aren't these kids from the Hyuga clan?" he asked, scratching his head in thought.

"Yes, we are." The boy spoke, standing gracefully, as if he hadn't just been trying to catch goldfish in a paper net. He regarded them with a cool stare of indifference that was rare on a child. "I'm Neji. This is my cousin, and the heiress, Hinata-sama." Neji motioned to a dark-haired girl, who was in a pale yellow yukata and fidgeting with her fingers.

Itachi noticed the way the boy stood protectively in front of his younger cousin. For a boy his age, it was commendable that he took charge so efficiently. Likely without having been told, he knew his place, as a branch member of the family, if Itachi had to guess, was to protect the heiress.

She peeked up through her severe fringe and bobbed her head in deference. "H-Hi, S-Sasuke-kun." She squeaked.

Sasuke was surprised to see the quiet Hyuga girl from his class. He didn't know much about her; they didn't really speak. But unlike almost every girl in the class, she didn't try to pounce on him every time they were in the same room, so he guessed she was probably okay. She acted really weird around Naruto though.

Hinata then turned to the platinum blond girl near him. "H-hi Ino-chan," The minute she chanced a look at the oblivious Naruto, who was already putting his net in the water, her face lit up impressively. "N-N-Naru…Narut-to-kun!" The older Uchiha boys both worried for a minute when they noticed the girl get pale. She was painfully shy, it seemed. To the point of looking ready to faint.

"Hey Hinata-chan, are you alright?" Ino asked, putting a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

The blushing girl was panting quietly, but Ino's touch seemed to bring her back to herself. "Y-yes. G-Gomen!"

"Huh. So even the Hyuga are here then." Shisui observed.

Itachi nodded solemnly. "Father also must have invited our old rivals in a show of good faith."

"Yeah, or in a show of propositioning them for some kind of business deal." The man running the booth muttered to himself.

"Hey look, guys! I got a fi—oh!" Naruto had turned around to show them the fish in his net, but broke the delicate material and released the fish in the process.

Ino snickered behind a cupped hand. "Baka," she muttered.

Sasuke shook his head. "Can I try uncle?" he asked the man, who had been watching Naruto skeptically.

"Hm? Sure son. What about your friends? I'm sure they'd like to play too." Without waiting for an answer, he handed a net to each child, including the two older boys.

"Move over, dead-last." Sasuke hissed, kneeling beside Naruto and casting his own net into the water. Naruto was about to retort, when the same pale-eyed boy with the long hair knelt back in his spot, reclaiming the net he'd sat down.

"You're much too loud. I'm sure the vibrations of your voice carry to the fish. You'll never catch anything like that." He said, sounding so matter-of-fact it was hard to tell if he meant to be insulting or simply informative.

"Who're you, smarty pants?! Your net's empty! I bet you can't catch one either."

The boy, Neji, smirked, seemingly nonplussed. "That was only because your noise scared them away earlier right as I caught one. Now watch," Naruto huffed, making a point to look uninterested as he watched the boy patiently wait for a fish to swim above his net. Sasuke watched the Hyuga, out of the corner of his eyes, trying not to get upset by the fact that he was taking everyone's attention. He didn't like the boy; he could already tell.

He knew his family shared history with the Hyuga, and was a smart enough boy to figure out it likely wasn't_ good_ history. He'd known Hinata was a Hyuga, but she hadn't given him much reason to dislike her. This Neji was different. He seemed pompous, like he was looking down on everyone.

But the others seemed to find him fascinating for some reason. Well, except Naruto, who clearly didn't like him either. Even Ino seemed enraptured as she leaned forward to watch in curiosity. Sakura's head was tilted, the green glow of her eyes barely discernable as her hair shifted out of the way slightly; so he knew she was peeking too.

Itachi and Shisui stood back and watched the younger kids. After what felt like an eternity of tense silence, a white and orange goldfish swam idly toward the net, drifting closer into its shadow. Faster than everyone could follow, Neji had carefully flicked his wrist and gotten the fish out of the water.

The Uchiha running the booth looked impressed, although a little disgruntled that it was a Hyuga who had managed to win the game first. All the same, he produced a plastic bag, scooped several cups of water into it and watched the boy slide the fish inside.

"Wow that was actually really cool!" Ino crooned, her eyes sparkling. Sakura smiled at the brown-haired boy, and without realizing it, he smiled back. Something about the pink-haired girl reminded him a little of Hinata.

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto said dismissively. "I could do that if I wanted." The man scoffed doubtfully but handed him another net.

"Then by all means, please." he ushered.

Naruto proceeded to plunge his net in the water and break it almost instantly against some pebbles. Ino burst out laughing and Sasuke smirked.

"Hey, you remember when we used to play this game?" Shisui nudged Itachi with a wide grin.

His cousin nodded contemplatively. "Yes. I believe you always were a sore loser though. Complaining profusely when I would catch more fish."

Shisui pretended to be offended as he placed a hand to his chest. "C'mon! I was never like that."

"Actually, the seven-year old Shisui I remember was exactly like that." Itachi continued, "I recall sometimes switching our bags so you would think you caught more and wouldn't sulk. But then you became even more insufferable in your gloating…" he folded his arms neatly over his chest. "You only recently learned good sportsmanship."

"Oho! Care to test that then?"

Itachi's brow arched. "What?"

"I'm saying we should have a competition for old time's sake to see who catches more." Itachi eyed him skeptically. "And I promise, on my Uchiha honor, that I will _not_ gloat when I beat you."

"In that case, then I hope you will live up to your word...and not sulk when you lose this time."

Shisui chuckled confidently. "Do you mind kiddos? I need to prove a point to Itachi here." The younger kids slowly stepped aside in curiosity, Sasuke pulling a sulking Naruto out of the way.

Neji watched keenly as they both dipped their nets in the water and waited. Hinata stood fidgeting at his side, stealing glances at an oblivious Naruto.

The children stood back and watched the two Uchiha's competition play out. It didn't take long for both of them to catch a fish, and then another. The Uchiha running the shop watched them go at it, flabbergasted as they caught up at least half the fish in the tank.

"Wow, Sasuke-kun! They're kind of cool, huh?" Ino squealed, latching onto his arm once again.

For once Sasuke didn't mind as he watched his older brother with glowing eyes. "Itachi is. My big brother's the best at everything. Shisui's okay I guess…for a dork."

"Heard that!" he called from over his shoulder.

"I see. Maybe not all Uchiha are as talentless as I thought." Neji remarked.

Sasuke turned to him with a biting glare.

Hinata stepped forward as he advanced on her cousin. "Gomen Sasuke-kun!" she said with a bow. "N-N-Neji-san d-didn't mean that."

Sasuke turned away with a scowl. "Hmph! Stupid Hyuga…"

"Okay, that's enough! Time to count 'em." Shisui grinned.

Itachi nodded. "Fine,"

They sat the two bags containing their fish down side by side. "…eleven…twelve…thirteen! Hah! Beat that, cousin!" Shisui crowed, turning to Itachi with a smug look.

Itachi silently counted the fish and his back, his back to the others. "…"

"Aniki, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked. "I know there's no way you actually lost to _him_!" He pointed up at his cousin with accusing eyes.

Shisui held his hands up. "Hey! We had a competition and it looks like I won fair and square. Sorry Itachi, but that's—"

"Fourteen."

"Huh?"

"I have fourteen…"

"W-Whaaat?!" Shisui's mouth promptly fell open.

Naruto snickered. "Heh heh heh…he looks like a guppy!" He then proceeded to mimic Shisui by making guppy faces.

"Well, that settles that." Said the man running the booth. "You both caught more than anyone has all night, so there's that."

"B-But…I was finally gonna win!" Shisui whined.

Itachi put a consoling hand on his friend's shoulder. "Next time."

Neji eyed the sniveling Uchiha who looked like he was ready to burst into tears, with disdain. "On second thought, the Uchiha may be just as pathetic as I previously thought…maybe moreso." He took Hinata's hand in his and began leading her away without a glance back. "Let's go Hinata-sama. I'm sure your father is waiting for us."

"Bye Hinata!" Ino waved. "Bye Neji!"

Naruto followed suit. "Bye Hinataaaa! And Neji-teeemeee!"

Sasuke only rolled his eyes, refusing to acknowledge the Hyuga. He turned around to see Itachi standing over a whining Shisui, who kept muttering "It's not fair…"

"C'mon! What happened to Uchiha honor?" he yelled, walking over to kick his cousin. "You're making us look bad!" Sasuke was nothing if not exasperated. Why couldn't Shisui be cooler, like his brother?

Sakura quietly walked over to kneel in front of him, shyly showing him a bag holding a single goldfish.  
"H-huh? Sakura-chan, did you catch this yourself?"

She nodded, a ghost of a smile appearing as she pushed it toward him. "Wait, are you saying you want me to have your fish? I can't do that." Shisui shook his head.

Itachi gently stroked her little pink head. "Take it Shisui." he insisted, understanding what Sakura was trying to do.

Shisui sighed, "Thanks Sakura-chan, I'll take good care of it." He smiled as he gingerly accepted the bag, untying it to dump the fish in with his own. "There, now I've got fourteen…Wait that means we tied!" Shisui exclaimed, whirling to give Itachi a wide smile. "You didn't beat me—because we tied!"

Itachi chuckled quietly, giving Sakura a grateful look. "Yes it looks like we did."

"I don't get it…" Naruto whispered loudly to Ino and Sasuke.

Ino shrugged. "Neither do I…big kids are just weird."

* * *

And so Sakura's first festival went off without a hitch, and without any of the children knowing, Inoichi became further involved with finding Sakura's tormentors. Fugaku remained doubtful of Sakura's progress in her lessons, while Mikoto insisted that the girl had the will as well as the ability to learn. The Uchiha matriarch wasn't the only one who noticed Sakura's quiet intellect though.

Itachi often noticed that when she accompanied their mother to retrieve he and Sasuke from school, often she seemed to be staring at the building wistfully. He knew Sasuke told her about his days at school, and that she seemed very attentive to every detail.

She definitely held a healthy curiosity about the mysterious institution that took up so much of their time during the day. Normally, a child Sakura's age would at least be enrolled in preschool, but because of her…condition, Mikoto had reluctantly opted for her to be homeschooled. Fugaku firmly agreed that paying tuition for a child who didn't have the mental faculties to keep up in a classroom setting was pointless, and so Sakura stayed home with her private tutor and her speech therapist Shizune.

But that didn't stop her from watching as Sasuke and Itachi did their homework each evening. On more than one occasion, Itachi noticed her follow him into the study, leaning quietly against his leg as he read. The evening Sakura approached him also started out similarly.

Itachi read in his father's study, the only sound in the room was when he turned a page. That was what allowed him to hear as little feet quietly pattered against the floor. He always left the door cracked, in case his little shadow decided to slip in at any time. Sakura had gotten comfortable enough with him to accept his silent invitation and normally the two sat in companionable silence.

It wasn't uncommon for him to stop reading to look down and notice the little girl dozing against him. But that wasn't the case today. As she slipped in, instead of taking up her normal spot near his feet, she shyly hovered close, at his elbow. He carefully noted his page and closed the book, giving her his undivided attention. Sakura stood bashfully, worrying her lip between her teeth and squeezing her hands together.

Itachi gave her a gentle smile of reassurance, moving the stack of books he had near him and motioning for her to join him. She did so obediently, sinking onto the plush armchair beside him, her little body pressed into his side. "Is there something on your mind?" he asked after a few minutes.

Sakura's head jerked up towards his, and he could tell the gears were turning. Slowly, as if she were having second thoughts, she lifted up her small hands and signed a single word, phrased as a question: _"School?"_

"What would you like to know?" Itachi replied, startling Sakura slightly.

She looked to him in wonder, causing him to chuckle. "I've been studying sign language in my own time since you began taking lessons. As an older brother, it's my job to support you." Her heart raced in shocked joy.

Itachi always reminded her how much he thought of her. He had always gone out of his way to make her feel like she belonged.

"_Do I get to go to school?_" she ventured cautiously.

Itachi took a moment to contemplate this. He was hardly surprised she had asked. Maybe slightly surprised she had asked so soon, but on the whole, he had expected that staying home wouldn't be enough to stimulate Sakura forever. Then again, she may have experienced the slightest surge of confidence since meeting some of the kids from Sasuke's class. Enough to muster the courage to ask him about school.

"I imagine our parents had intended for you to be home schooled indefinitely…" Itachi murmured. He didn't believe in talking down to her. Like his mother, he fully believed Sakura had a sharp mind beneath the psychological scarring.

Somehow, he could imagine them being reluctant, if nothing else, where Sakura was concerned. While Mikoto would be thrilled to learn she had an interest—it would be something else she could lord over his father, after all—her protective instinct would likely prevent her from readily agreeing. Sakura was still fragile, only just peeking out of her shell.

Rehabilitation was to be a careful, slow process. Thrusting her into a traditional school environment teeming with kids her age—some of them with no sense of boundaries toward people like Sakura—could easily end with her regressing again if things went sour.

She pouted as if knowing that this was the end of it. She got up, shoulders hunched as she began to trail out of the room.

Itachi watched her go, unable to offer the comfort he wished he could, because really, what could he say? Getting her hopes up in any manner would be cruel. But, at least he could subtly hint at the suggestion to his parents. Maybe with time they would come around to it…

* * *

Igasaki Deidara had decided a long time ago that authority figures hardly ever had your best interest at heart. Sure, that was what they told you. But only idiots believed in adults. Adults never understood, anyway.

They never understood his views on art or his creative brilliance, for one, and he was wholeheartedly convinced that if someone couldn't even comprehend _that_ much, then they weren't worth his time. Never mind that the one time he had tried baring his soul to an adult he had been irrevocably let down. So now he was sidled with the label of "troubled". Not that he cared.

He hadn't cared much when his father had informed him—not asked, never asked—that he would be attending Senju Academy. No, he was just packed up with the rest of the things into the car and away they went, far from Iwa, the only home he'd ever known.

Instead of the mountainous area Deidara had loved to explore, he found himself in the sprawling city of Konoha, which had initially made his skin crawl. So many people, rushing around like ants. And the architecture of the buildings…he wasn't a real fan. Then he got dumped into this hellhole school, told he'd tested high enough to be accepted into the gifted program. It annoyed him to think he'd be attending school with a bunch of snooty rich kids who wouldn't know true art if it blew them sky high.

That was why, stepping into the classroom of talented misfits had really thrown them for a loop. He remembered his first day with perfect clarity, though he couldn't remember the teacher that they had subsequently chased out of the school. She was probably nice enough, he guessed. But he didn't trust adults or authority in general, never mind the nice ones. They were a whole different animal, smiling in your face and all the while, treating you like an idiot.

"_We've got another new student joining us everyone." She said, smiling nervously and wringing her hands at the assembled children. There were only a handful of them, but their stares bore into Deidara as if he were a specimen underneath a microscope. "His name is Igasaki Deidara-kun." The class remained silent. Not a single person shouted a welcome—not that he wanted one, really. It just caught him off guard. They continued to assess him like a pack of predators, looking for a weakness. He refused to flinch._

"_W-Well, please take a seat next to Akasuna-kun. Akasuna-kun, would you raise your hand?"_

_There was a loud sigh from a redhead near the middle of the row as he looked at Deidara in a completely apathetic manner. Deidara was astute enough to guess this was "Akasuna-kun" and ambled to the desk beside the bored-looking boy. _

_The teacher smiled sheepishly as if trying to get her bearings, scurrying back behind her desk to shuffle through lesson plans. He tuned her out after that, though. He could still feel his classmates giving him guarded glances, but this Akasuna's eyes had returned to the front of the room, where he stared blankly at the board. The first think he noticed was the shock of mussed red hair. It stood out notably to him; the next thing he noticed was his classmate's casual disregard for the dress-code, as he wore his uniform in a rather relaxed manner. _

_His tie was on correctly, but his school blazer's top three buttons were loose and the white shirt underneath looked a little rumpled. As if feeling Deidara observing him, he half-turned, though he remained slouched in his seat so that he looked as if he would slip to the floor any minute. Deidara was caught off guard once again by the pretty, almost doll-like features of the boy's face. He made the assumption that he was probably frail, maybe a pushover even._

_Definitely not worth his time. That was when the thin lips that had been pressed into a line slowly curled into a sneer as the redhead regarded him. "Nice hair, girlie." He said, his voice a quiet drawl._

_Deidara took a minute to stare in shock before he began to bristle as the insult sank in. His hair, golden blonde and just above his shoulders, save for the longer fringe that fell into his left eye, was something he had decided to grow out, for a very simple reason. _

_His father had told him to cut it. He claimed he looked too much like his mother as it grew. Never mind that his hair was one of his last links to his late mother, but his father ordering him to do anything was detestable in itself, and so Deidara became determined to let it grow, until it was past his shoulders. Maybe even down his back if he wanted. _

_No redheaded doll-boy was going to make him feel insecure either. "What'd you say to me?" he growled roughly. Their classmates, one girl and five other boys, observed but didn't intervene. That was fine too. Deidara was perfectly capable of fighting his own battles._

"_Just that you have such nice, silky hair." He smirked. Obviously it wasn't meant as a compliment. "You must spend hours on it a day." Akasuna said calmly._

"_Not as much time as you spend doing your make-up." Deidara fired back automatically. The boy's features made him look a little like a porcelain doll that belonged on some granny's shelf, collecting dust. _

_Sasori, though his face barely moved, seemed slightly surprised he had gotten the reaction he had. Deidara glared, ready for the next verbal volley, but all he heard instead was the redhead's quiet tittering. "Heh…It's been a while since anyone's had the nerve to stand up to me. You should respect your betters," Sasori's amber eyes glinted dangerously before fading back into cool indifference. _

"_Maybe if someone better was here…"_

"_Watch your tongue, or I'll rip it out." The redhead stated as if it was a comment made in passing. But Deidara wasn't fooled. There was a steady tension thrumming in the air as their classmates continued to observe. _

"_You're the one who started it, un." Deidara huffed, his verbal tick making itself known in his frustration. "You've got some nerve, when your face looks more like a girl's than mine."_

_He barely caught the small smile that flickered at Sasori's lips._

"Uh-oh." Deidara heard a low voice intone. Suddenly he was back in the present. "You've got a scary look on your face. Thinking too hard again I presume—you know your brain can't handle it." He looked over into Sasori's sleepy cinnamon eyes. But he knew the redhead was wide awake. He was moody and short-tempered but grudgingly, intelligent.

He was misguided about what true art was, though, and for that reason Deidara knew he could never fully like him. Kisame claimed that the reason they couldn't see eye to eye was they simply had too much in common. But what did Kisame know? He actually liked hanging around with _the Uchiha_. Deidara cut a hard glower at the damnable Uchiha heir, who sat quietly reading a book as Hoshigaki Kisame yammered away.

He couldn't stand the raven-haired boy. The way he looked down on everyone with that apathetic face. It was different than Sasori's apathy. At least Sasori was passionate when it came to art, and willing to engage him in verbal spars. But what did the Uchiha do? Sit there, ignore him. As if he were too good to respond to the likes of someone like Deidara. It made his blood run white hot in anger, just thinking about it. "Obsessing over Uchiha, again?" Sasori asked rhetorically. "It's no wonder he doesn't take you seriously. You get worked up too easily."

"And you're one to talk, danna." Deidara had started to mockingly refer to Sasori as master not long after they'd met. They both liked art, but could never agree on it. Sasori claimed his view on art—that it was something eternal—to be superior. And so Deidara had proclaimed him a "master" artist, claiming he should be able to prove it. The nickname, however, had stuck though his views hadn't been swayed. "You lose it whenever someone's so much as a minute late."

"I hate people who waste time. I don't waste anyone else's time, so no one should waste mine." Sasori replied.

"Speaking of which, where's our new teacher?" the blonde mumbled. "Not that it really matters much in the end."

"And here I was hoping for someone who had backbone." He heard Nagato mutter two seats in front of him. Obviously the red-haired boy with longer, darker hair than Sasori's echoed everyone's sentiments. If the teacher was too scared to show up, they most definitely weren't worthy of anyone's respect.

"Maybe they're late." Konan chimed, ever the optimist, though she was more than happy to aide in tormenting whatever teacher stepped through the threshold if it was what her friends wanted. She practically had hearts in her eyes every time she looked at Yahiko.

"Who cares?" added Hidan loudly. "The fucker shows or he doesn't. No skin off our backs, right Kakuzu?" The brunette didn't reply as he flipped a yen piece into the air and caught it.

Everyone agreed. Though they knew things weren't that simple. Old Man Sarutobi, the headmaster, would send someone. He always did. And it always ended the same. Nevertheless it didn't stop them from coming.

As if summoned by their combined ruminations, the door slowly slid open, and a head poked through. Deidara didn't think. His eyes zeroed in on his target and he took aim.

"Hey teach, head's up!" the blonde cackled, chucking a chalkboard eraser at the head of their unsuspecting new teacher. Everyone but Itachi leaned forward in eager anticipation as they waited for it to make contact, but were surprised when a hand shot out and easily caught the eraser turned projectile at the last minute. There was a collective held breath as they stared at the silver-haired man—make that boy—in shock.

"No fucking way…" Itachi heard Hidan mutter to his right. "That shit should have hit him, but he totally ninja'ed the motherfucker!"

The man lifted his head, smiling obliviously, or so it would appear underneath the surgeon's mask covering the lower half of his face. "Hm…I see the reputation for this class being full of bad apples isn't exaggerated." He noted casually, strolling into the room and putting his bag down on the teacher's desk. The blonde watched, gaping, as he ignored the insults graffitied onto the surface. It had been the final straw in driving the last teacher away. But this guy was as cool as a cucumber, and it was driving him insane. Who was he anyway? There was no way he was the new teacher.

"Aren't you a little old for seventh grade?" the blonde snarked, feeling the need to reassert himself in front of his classmates.

"I guess I probably am." the stranger chuckled, shrugging his shoulders amiably, "But for whatever reason, I've been assigned as the homeroom teacher to a bunch of trouble-making miscreants who are supposed to be gifted students. But all I see are some snot-nosed brats who'd rather play pranks."

"You don't seem much older than us yourself, sensei." Nagato observed quietly. "You're young enough to be a student here."

The man playfully raised his hands in acquiesce. "You caught me. This is my first teaching job, you see. So I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me." He bent down to pick up a piece of chalk from the floor and began writing his name on the board. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. You can call me Kakashi-sensei."

"Hold on! I'm not gonna listen to somebody that's barely older than us. What gives you the right to tell us anything?" Deidara spat. His visible eye glittered defiantly as he stared down this "Kakashi" character. He didn't trust the guy at all.

He was way too mysterious, didn't seem like the kind who got easily rattled, and he was wearing a freaking mask, like he thought he'd catch something by being in the same room as them. Who the hell did this guy think he was, anyway?

"Hatake…" Nagato whispered to himself. "Wait, you're…_that_ Hatake Kakashi, aren't you? I heard about you— some kind of prodigy. They say you were studying law as the prized pupil of Namikaze Minato…

"Wow, you really must be something, Kakashi-san. Nagato's not normally this talkative for strangers. So I commend you on that feat," Yahiko informed him. "But I'm sorry to say, it's still not enough to win our respect just like that. That's something you're gonna have to prove to us you deserve, otherwise you'll end up as frayed as all the others who came in here looking down their noses at us, thinking they could tell us what to do."

"Fair enough," Kakashi sighed. "I was hoping we'd all just get along, but I can see it's not going to be that easy. Since we're all being frank, I should tell you I'm no more thrilled about teaching a bunch of stuck-up problem brats than you are having me as a teacher." He smiled in the same carefree manner that was starting to piss Deidara off.

"I don't care what you do, I'll never accept you as our teacher!" Deidara shouted angrily.

Kakashi only seemed to eye the blonde lazily. "Never, huh? Well, we'll be together for at least the rest of the year, maybe longer. Who knows? Maybe you'll all come around. At any rate, I'll be your teacher regardless."

"Fat chance!" another boy piped up. He had silver hair, darker than Kakashi's and violet eyes. "I second blondie; why the hell should we listen to you?"

Kisame watched the exchange in amusement before leaning over to whisper to a silent Itachi. "Things are getting interesting, eh Itachi? This Hatake guy looks like he might mean business. It'll be fun to see how long he lasts."

"They're underestimating him." Itachi mumbled back. "He may seem careless and unreliable, but it's all just a mask…"

* * *

Sakura fumbled to use her chopsticks at dinner. Around her, everyone else seemed to be picking up their food with ease. Even Sasuke, eating as eagerly as always, had no trouble handling his. She had just gotten a sea pillow to her mouth when Mikoto squealed suddenly, making her drop it again. Sakura pouted, poking at the little ball on her plate with a finger and then discreetly picking it up to pop into her mouth when no one was looking.

"Oh Itachi, I almost forgot. I talked to Sarutobi-san, and he tells me you've gotten a new homeroom teacher. Someone who can handle the problem students. Is that true?"

Fugaku looked up from his plate to eye his son and Sasuke glanced at his brother in curiosity, though he kept munching.

"Yes, kaa-san. Hatake Kakashi. His methods are somewhat unconventional, but it appears he may be able to bring the class together." He didn't need to tell his parents just how bad it was in the classroom most of the time. His mother had a general idea of how disruptive his classmates could be, but even she didn't know the half of it. And if his father knew that his son was in an environment anything less than exceptional, well… But he didn't mind so much honestly.

The harassment from Deidara was easy enough to deflect. But the fact that his classmates, strange and twisted as most of them were, saw him as simply another freak among them, and didn't fawn over him, like the rest of the school did, was a small comfort oddly enough.

Mikoto sighed in relief. "That's wonderful. I wouldn't want your hard work to be for nothing just because the advanced program has some bad seeds in it."

"Hatake Kakashi, is it? That's Sakumo's boy." Fugaku said, looking at his son. Everyone in the elite circles knew about Hatake Sakumo, who had been found years ago by his young son, dead after committing suicide in light of being publically shamed over ties to a political scandal he likely had little if anything to do with. He was little more than a scapegoat to the master mind's that had orchestrated it. But the media had needed someone to lynch, and it was Sakumo that took the fall.

Itachi nodded. "Yes. He is the same Kakashi that apprenticed under Minato-san not long ago."

"They were calling that boy a prodigy." Fugaku continued. "He was all set to take over the Hatake Group and make a name for himself in politics at the same time. What's he doing teaching at your academy?"

Itachi shrugged simply. "I'm not sure Father. He seems rather aloof, if not mysterious. I doubt he'll volunteer that information to us."

"Hmm…" Fugaku was deep in thought now. "Well, I can't help but wonder what Sarutobi was thinking. The boy's what, still a teenager, isn't he? And the last time I saw him, he was one push away from a psychotic break if you ask me."

"What's a…psycho-tick break?" Sasuke asked.

Mikoto smiled uncomfortably at her son, giving her husband a subtle glare as if to say "_This isn't something to be discussed at dinner._"

"Nothing sweetheart," she reassured. Sasuke pouted, knowing he was being treated like his age, but didn't protest.

"Fugaku, you have a break coming up don't you?" Mikoto asked, smoothly guiding the conversation elsewhere. Fugaku eyed his wife carefully. She had become rather cunning as of late.

"Hn," he grunted his admission, taking a sip of water.

"Well, since catering orders have slowed down recently, I've been thinking," Fugaku sighed lately_. 'Here we go' _he thought. Mikoto's "brilliant" schemes normally started with "_I've been thinking_".

"This would be a good time for you to really get to know Sakura. Father-daughter bonding style." She beamed brightly. Fugaku's grip on his chopsticks tightened and Sakura looked up from her plate at the mention of her name.

"Mikoto,"

"Don't give me that. The kids barely see you since you're always putting in overtime at the station and then bringing work home. I've decided I can take the boys for the day. We'll have some mother-son bonding time, won't we?" she grinned at her sons. Sasuke, a mama's boy where it counted, cheered. Itachi gave a gentle smile in acquiesce.

This revelation of his mother's didn't stop him from worrying over how his father would treat Sakura when they were alone together. He wasn't the most pleasant of men on a good day. He was stern, commanding, and sought perfection in all his expectations of his children. Sasuke only got half the attention he should from their father because he couldn't live up to the man's unrealistic expectations as it was, and he knew his dad had all but flat-out rejected Sakura.

There was a stare-off between his parents until Mikoto finally whispered. "One day is all I'm asking."

"One day." Fugaku repeated, returning to his meal.

Itachi wondered silently if that one day would be enough to bring his family together, or further divide it.

~xSHxSUXIUxSUXMUxIUx~

* * *

Sakura sat nervously in the backseat after having been loaded into Fugaku's car, this time without the added comfort of either brother. Fugaku was getting last minute instructions from Mikoto, who had dressed her sensibly in a cute red checkered sundress and a wide-brimmed straw hat to shield her head. Fugaku had told his wife that it wasn't a very conductive outfit for a child to go berry-picking in, but Mikoto had insisted it was fine, and important for Sakura to be able to move freely.

"Bye Sakura, have fun with daddy today!" Mikoto called cheerfully, waving from the front door. Sasuke grinned, waving from beside her, and Itachi offered her a smile. Fugaku opened his door, still looking disgruntled and dropped unceremoniously into his seat.

After buckling himself in and adjusting his mirrors, he pulled out of the drive toward the strawberry fields on the edge of the city. As expected, the trip was silent, which was just fine by Fugaku. He wouldn't know what to say to the girl anyway. It dawned on him that this would be the first time he'd be around her alone since the first moment he'd seen her.

He hadn't understood why Mikoto had to have her then, and he didn't understand now. Maybe his wife thought she saw a charity case; she was always nurturing, so he supposed that could be a reason. All the same, dragging him into being the father of a child that wasn't even his, much less worthy of bearing the Uchiha name, seemed like crossing a line. Things had been strained between them as of late. All over Sakura.

Of course, he was not a weak man. He was the head of household, the respected police chief, the stern Uchiha patriarch. And he was chauffeuring around little pink-haired girls, on the way to go berry picking. Oh how the mighty had fallen.

He almost dreaded when the car crested the winding hillside, to the small valley where the berry farmers opened their fields several times a year to allow children the experience to come pick their crops by the bucketful. Well really, there was still an admission fee, and children scampering around with little pails didn't really take much away from their produce.

Fugaku didn't think he could do it on principle alone. He wasn't particularly fond of other people's offspring. Never mind allowing them to come onto his property and take a portion of his hard-grown crops.

But the old man and his wife, whose children were all grown and had moved away, save for one who stayed behind to help, seemed to enjoy the patter of little feet running around their fields.

They greeted Sakura and the other children with the elation of grandparents anxious to see their grandchildren after a long spell of absence. When they handed her a plastic pale and ushered her and the rest of the group toward the fields, encouraging them to pick as much as they could, Fugaku watched how Sakura hung back shyly from interacting with the others. She seemed to cringe when someone so much as brushed shoulders with her. An obvious sign that Mikoto put far too much stock in this girl.

Disgruntled at having wasted his time, he noticed the old woman eying Sakura as her husband chatted with the other children who were down on their knees picking the ripe strawberries.

"Aren't you going to join in dear?" she asked the small child gently. Sakura, her foot toeing at the ground, shrugged.

Instead of simply ignoring her, as Fugaku expected he would have done, the woman crouched lower to place a bony hand on Sakura's head. "It is better to go home and make your net then to gaze longingly at the fish in the deep pool." She hummed, her wrinkled mouth grinning.

Fugaku recognized it as an old Japanese proverb, but highly doubted the meaning wasn't lost on Sakura.

"Don't be afraid to go and have fun. I believe you can only regret what you haven't tried." She winked, and Sakura stared toward the other children before taking a hesitant step. One foot in front of the other and she timidly joined the group listening to the old man talk about how to pick the ripest, sweetest berries. He seemed to be in the midst of an anecdotal story from his youth, a mishap involving biting into a strawberry that had contained a wriggling green worm…

"Everyone appreciates fresh fruit, even the pests!" he chortled. Fugaku thought his wife would have enjoyed the man's prattle as a fellow gardener. She too, took great pride in the home grown fruits and vegetables she raised. He could easily remember a time when he had courted her in which he had put on a pair of gloves and helped her do weeding, in order to impress her. But instead she had laughed merrily at his dirt-caked, disgruntled face and told him that a green thumb certainly wasn't on his list of talents.

He had fired back by saying that gardening was a delicate pursuit that hardly interested him half so much as the beautiful girl doing it. The comment had garnered a deep blush and a sheepish giggle. Fugaku smirked at the memory—even when they fought back then, they were happy. That time had all but been a lifetime ago though, before children, when he was still a rising rookie on the force.

Life was…simpler then? Better? Full of promise?

He felt the weighted gaze of the old woman and turned to meet her eyes. The age-wizened face held a knowing look. "Parents and children are meant to learn from each other." she said, and then gracefully took her leave. He blinked.

Another proverb. Fugaku wondered how many she had on hand, and if she always gave them, unsolicited, to visitors. He would have asked as much, had it not been deeply ingrained that elders were due the utmost respect. Those that came before were always right.

He had secretly hated that line of rationality as a young boy growing up with the rigid expectations of the Uchiha clan on his shoulder. Yet he never openly opposed it, and when he became a parent, and his chance to be different came with it…he unblinkingly raised his children under the same iron thumb.

Then Sakura came along, and his every instinct fought to repel her in any way possible. She wasn't his blood, for one, and she was just so…soft, for another. Never mind that he knew nothing about raising little girls. She was mute! How was he ever supposed to connect with her on a communicative level?

Even when Itachi was being rebellious, he was speaking his mind, and that gave Fugaku a strange sense of pride. Sasuke, while he may not have showered him with the praise and attention he was always seeking, was a precocious, opinionated boy. But Sakura…without a voice, how could she ever hope to stand up for herself in the world?

… How would he know if he was doing right by her?

Backed into a corner, the option seemed that he needed to be cruel to be kind. It may not have been the best way, but it was the only way he really knew. An Uchiha were nothing if not set in their ways. Even if that way was wrong, the Uchiha sense of pride would never allow Fugaku to admit it.

He watched Sakura kneeling in the dirt and reaching for a strawberry at the same time as a brown-haired boy who looked vaguely familiar. When the boy noticed Sakura's face turned in a frown, he plucked up the berry and deposited it into her pail with a grin.

~xoXoxoXoXxo~

Itachi watched his little brother cautiously prod at his stick of dango, looking highly distressed that they had stopped in a tea-shop for sweets in the middle of their mother-son bonding day. In actually it was a day for Uchiha Mikoto to drag her sons out shopping under the guise of quality time. Itachi bit into his dango with great relish, as he always did where dango was concerned, though he made sure it was well concealed behind a blank face. Sasuke, deciding instead on a sesame bun, bit into his snack with content as Mikoto began speaking.

"This is a nice day of relaxation, isn't it boys. It's been so long since we've done anything like this. I'm sorry your father and I have both been so busy."

"It's okay," Sasuke replied brightly, his mouth decorated with crumbs. "I'm growing up kaa-san, so I know I can't follow you around all the time."

Mikoto leaned forward on her elbows, looking fondly at her younger son. "Is that so?" she replied, amused.

"Yeah." Sasuke turned to a quiet Itachi as he sipped from his steaming mug of tea. "Right Itachi?"

"I suppose, although there's nothing wrong with feeling close to Mother, Sasuke."

"Your brother's right, sweetie. No matter how old you get you know I'll always make time for my Sasuke-kun."

Flustered, Sasuke began choking on the food in his mouth, gulping tea to chase it down. "K-Kaa-san…that's embarrassing."

Mikoto giggled. "My boys, growing up so fast…you know, I wonder how your father and Sakura are doing. I thought they would enjoy the berry patch, but now I wonder if we all should have come here together instead."

"Mother...about Sakura, how are her lessons going?" Itachi asked suddenly. Well, he had actually been trying for subtlety, but this was as good a time as any to put his plan into action.

"Well, according to Shizune-san she's doing very well, despite the psychological obstacles. She's very sharp-minded, our Sakura." Mikoto beamed with pride. Itachi knew if he could just get his mother on board as an ally, Sakura may have a chance. He had to believe this wouldn't hurt her in the long-run.

"And her tutoring lessons with Ebisu-san?" he ventured.

"She also seems to be very adept there as well. If she wasn't so painfully shy and didn't get terrified in new situations I'd send her to school with you and Sasuke."

Sasuke perked up at this news, obviously curious. He was coming around to the idea of Sakura. Sometimes, fleetingly, it almost felt odd not to feel her hand latched in his as he left for school. Sheparding her around had gotten to be a habit as much as it had initially been a chore.

"And if she asked?" Itachi continued. "What if she were the one who wanted to go?"

Mikoto looked thoughtful. "Then I guess it's something we'd consider. But so far Sakura hasn't shown much interest in it, so I thought it'd be best to continue having her lessons taught here."

"She signed _school_ to me."

Mikoto's eyes grew wide. "She _signed_ you? Are you sure?" Itachi nodded affirmatively as Sasuke tried to follow the conversation.

"Oh that's so wonderful. Wait until Fugaku hears," His mother's face took on something reminiscent of a triumphant smirk. "But if she signed to you, do that mean you understand sign language?" The thought had only just dawned on her that she wasn't aware of her firstborn knowing sign language.

"I've been studying in my own time since it was first decided Sakura would have lessons."

"A-Aniki, you know how to sign?!" Sasuke gaped. "T-Then I'm gonna learn too. Teach me big brother, please!" Itachi didn't have to look to know his brother was giving him big, pleading eyes.

He pretended to think about it, and Sasuke faltered, wondering if his brother would refuse. He didn't like feeling left out, though he still found it hard to verbalize why. Maybe Itachi only wanted to spend time with Sakura.

"I suppose I could give you lessons."

Mikoto had to quiet her young son, even as she fought a grin when he yelled happily. "Itachi, it's amazing that you're able to communicate with Sakura on her level. I'm sure it's comforting for her. But, how do you know she isn't just curious about school? I'm sure she notices you and Sasuke leaving everyday and the building I pick you up from. But being curious isn't the same as wanting to go."

"She told me she'd like to try." Mikoto felt her heart lurch both in fear and excitement. She was prepared for the day Sakura might want to go off to school. Although admittedly at the rate things were going, she had thought it would further into the future.

"Kaa-san?" Sasuke asked, concerned by the strange look on his mother's face.

Mikoto blinked herself back into reality before quietly replying, "I suppose that changes...everything."

* * *

**This chapter was probably the hardest one to get right, so far. I honestly lost my groove again…sorry guys. Waiting for it to come back took longer than expected…I found I couldn't get the part about Itachi's classmates right until I changed it from being written from Itachi's perspective to being written from Deidara's. Go figure. I liked where it ended up. :D If you're wondering why it had to be from Deidara's perspective maybe you'll understand later.**

**But! I will say I am currently trying to get some of my other stories back in rotation. I can't devote all my time to updating this one back to back while promising updates to other stories and then not delivering. Egalitarianism where it can be applied is my motto. So, I had to try to get back to my other stories, and I'm still pretty much trying. College flat out sucks. Just say no, kids! …I'm only kidding (sort of). It just keeps me hella busy and takes me away from my leisure writing and that's the part that sucks most. Being in front of my laptop all day goofing off and banging out new chapters is what my inner introvert **_**lives**_** for. Fresh air? Overrated. Friends? Who needs 'em, that's why I got dogs. Normal human interactions? Make me itch. A degree? Well, I guess that'd be cool or whatever, but my family says if I quit a week from graduation I can't crash here at the house anymore. :/ Guys, I tried to get them to mail me my degree so I wouldn't have to worry about this 'ceremony' business…which I find to be irrelevant, expensive, and inconvenient, but that pissed my family off too. Ugh! Like it's all about them…My next degree I am having mailed to me so I can skip the ceremony. **

**A few things you may notice in this…Fugaku is FINALLY starting to have a change of heart after four chapters of being a complete and utter idiot?! Well, kind of. He's now open to the possibility that he **_**could**_** be wrong about the way he's treated Sakura. **_**Not**_** that he's wrong about her being a lost cause, just that he's wrong about pushing her away. I've worked really hard to keep him surly and indifferent toward her without making him so much of an asshole directly to her that there can't be a mended relationship later. I kind of think I did a good job showing insight into his thoughts.**

**Another point…Yes, I painted the Akatsuki as a bunch of talented but troubled kids with baggage. But to me, that's all they ever were anyway…They all had their own reasons for trying to push the Akatsuki's agenda and all that, but deep down, I think they were all already a little (or a lot, depending on how you see it) broken inside when they joined up, and so tired of it all, the disappointments, that they all decided to do something about it. For selfish or well-intentioned reasons, almost everyone in the Akatsuki truly thought they were trying to make things right, and I can respect that. As Itachi once pointed out, everyone has their own version of the truth, no matter how misconstrued that truth may be to anyone on the outside. I hope that explains a little about why I portrayed them as the problem students they are. It's a different take but I feel like even in AU they'd all still have baggage they're toting. How will they fit into Sakura's story? Well, wait to find out. **

**Oh, and yes, I did make Yahiko and Nagato entirely separate entities for the purpose of this story. Nagato is Kushina's second cousin and Naruto's third cousin in this story.**

**People somehow read my mind about Sakura being brilliant academically (because she is in canon, and I didn't want to take that away from her) and about Kakashi showing up. I understand how you guessed about Sakura, but seriously, **_**who told you guys about Kakashi?!**_** Was it Naruto? Damn kid can't keep his mouth shut for a second, I swear! **

**Also, since some of you seem to read my random notes (which also makes me happy that you care enough to) I will say that between last chapter and this one, I discovered a manga called A Silent Voice and it is so *squee*. The title's not super-creative, but the story is very interesting. It's a relatively new series, so it's not finished, and I don't know if it's popular enough to have scanlation versions (I buy all my manga) but if you can buy it or find it at a library I highly recommend it. It's a slice-of-life manga, about a young boy who, along with his friends and classmates, makes life hell for a deaf girl that transfers into their class in elementary school. But after adults get involved, they all turn against him, he loses his friends and the reputation follows him, so basically his life sucks as a result. Years down the road, he deeply regrets what he's done and tracks her down as part of his journey of self-redemption. I won't give anything else away, but I'll say I commend the creator's very realistic depictions of how bullying can have long-term ripple effects on people's lives. I just thought it was good to mention since I'm writing this story about a mute Sakura who has been abused and obviously you guys are reading it, so you may also enjoy something like that. I dunno. Just a recommendation. **** I've started back up from winter break, and now I days away from graduating, so I don't know how soon I'll update, but there will be an update as soon as I can find time to hammer one out! Please bear with me and thank you again as always!**


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